


A Man, a Mage, and Two Misfits

by Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends



Series: Monsters, Mythicals, and Misfits (Sanders Sides Monster AU!) [1]
Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (well actually I suppose they're human anyhow...), Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Blood, Fluff, Human!Joan, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mage!Roman, Nightmares, Shapeshifter!Thomas, Slight Panic Attacks, Slowburn (sorta), Vampire!Virgil, Violence, Werecat!Talyn, Werewolf!Patton, human!logan, monster au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-02-10 09:18:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 31,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12908937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends/pseuds/Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends
Summary: Logan Taylor, a science teacher, is a human with some very unusual friends. His life is relatively normal, even with three non-human housemates. That is, until a powerful organization threatens to destroy his friends' lives. And Logan will stop at nothing to keep them safe.





	1. Prologue

To say that Logan Taylor’s life was unusual was… an understatement. Sure, some parts of his life were normal. He was a high school science teacher who was passionate about all sciences, especially astronomy, and he lived with his three of his friends in Ekeisdale. They lived in a friendly but quiet neighborhood of Ekeisdale, despite being so close to the high school that Logan taught at. And Ekeisdale was a normal, small town. Nothing unusual about that. No, what made Logan’s life unusual were his three housemates. To put it bluntly, they weren’t human. There was Roman Silvestri, the mage; Virgil Caelius, the vampire; and Patton Bellamy, the werewolf. 

He had met them all in college, by accident really. Virgil was his roommate, and Logan discovered his secret when he found out that the “Gatorade” that Virgil always drank was really plasma. (Logan, naturally, was horrified by this until Virgil told him that there was an underground blood drive for vampires, and that no humans had been killed.) Logan met Roman when he had accidentally bewitched Logan’s hair to a bright pink. The spell was intended to be used on Virgil, because Roman came from a long line of mages that disliked vampires greatly. Some of his relatives even hunted down and killed vampires, but thankfully, Roman wasn’t that extreme. As for Patton, he was Roman’s roommate, and sometimes got pulled into Roman’s schemes. Logan found himself enjoying Patton’s company whenever he came by with Roman, and oddly enough, the two of them became friends very quickly, bonding over the antics of their respective roommates. Logan found out that Patton was a werewolf when Patton had just simply told him.

Slowly but surely, the four of them became close friends. Though Roman and Virgil still had their differences, they managed to get along quite well. Sure, there were still the sarcastic remarks, the occasional prank or two (Logan had still not forgiven Roman for flooding their dorm room with bubbles that were bewitched to not pop for at least an hour), but besides that, everyone got along. After the four of them were done with college, they decided to buy a house and live there together. They searched around for a good place, until they settled on Ekeisdale. There was a high school there for Logan and Virgil to teach at (Virgil taught history, as he was alive for much of it), a theatre company for Roman (being a mage allowed him to pull off some dazzling “effects”), and a veterinary clinic for Patton (he was very attuned to how animals felt). It was perfect. A little hectic and insane, sure, but perfect. That is, until things got even more complicated, and even more dangerous.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton and Logan share a moment, and things get heated between Virgil and Roman.

A shrill beeping woke Logan up one Friday morning. He groaned, rolled over, and shut off his alarm clock. Logan then sat up and stretched, letting out a yawn. He climbed out of bed, and proceeded to get ready for his day. He first took a brisk shower, then got dressed in his usual black polo, tie, jeans, and black dress shoes. Logan then headed downstairs to the kitchen. Patton was in the kitchen already, making breakfast for himself and the others.

“Good morning, Logan! Did ya sleep well?” Patton asked, grinning when he saw Logan walk into the kitchen.

“I did, thank you Patton. Was your rest satisfactory?” Logan asked, heading over to the coffee machine, which had a fresh pot of coffee waiting for him.

“Eh, it was alright. I was a little restless last night, with the full moon coming up and all,” Patton said, shrugging and returning to the pancakes he was making. Logan frowned, pausing his movements in pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“But the full moon isn’t for another week, why are you beginning to feel its effects now?” Logan asked, setting down the coffeepot.

“I dunno. It seems like the effects show up earlier and earlier every month. There’s probably some scientific reason for it. I betcha you could figure it out Logan, you’re so smart!” Patton beamed, grinning once again. Logan’s face flushed slightly, and the tips of his ears grew pink.

“I- uh, erm… I suppose so,” Logan replied sheepishly, busying himself with pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding his usual amount of creamer and sugar to it.

“Don’t be so modest, Logan! You are smart. Anyway, I don’t look any more wolfish than usual, do I?” Patton asked, stacking the finished pancakes onto a plate, then turning to Logan. Logan took a sip of his coffee before setting it down on the counter, then stepped closer to Patton. His eyes traveled up and down Patton’s body, and at first glance, he seemed normal. But there were smaller, more minute signs that could potentially reveal Patton’s secret. Logan reached out and took one of Patton’s hands in his, examining his fingernails and looking for signs of thicker hair growth.

“Well, the hairs on your hand are normal, and your fingernails have not sharpened into claws,” Logan stated, releasing Patton’s hand to instead gently tilt his head to the side.

“Ears are slightly pointed, but not enough to cause serious alarm. Open your mouth for me, if you would?” Logan asked, turning Patton’s head back to face him. Patton obliged, and Logan leaned in, peering at Patton’s teeth.

“Teeth are looking more canine-like as well. But you should be fine to carry on with your normal routine,” Logan said, leaning away. Patton closed his mouth, and gave Logan a small smile. Logan felt a strange fluttering sensation in his abdomen in response to Patton’s smile. The two of them stood in silence for a moment, and Logan then realized that his hand was still gently holding Patton’s face. He considered moving away, but before he could, Patton started to slowly lean in. Logan’s heart was racing. Almost against his will, Logan started to lean in as well. Soon their lips were a breath apart, and Logan’s eyes slipped closed.

“What are you two nerds doing?” a voice from beside them piped up. Logan’s eyes snapped open, and he stumbled away from Patton, both of them wild eyed. Logan looked over to the source of the voice, and saw Virgil standing there in his pajamas, grinning evilly and displaying his sharp fangs. Logan frowned, straightened his tie, and walked over to the counter to grab his coffee.

“Geez, Virgil! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Now, do you want pancakes?” Patton asked, gesturing to the stack on the counter. Suddenly, there was a puff of red smoke, and Roman appeared in the kitchen. He had on his usual red bomber jacket, white t-shirt, and jeans, and was wearing a dazzling grin.

“Did someone say pancakes?!” he cried out valiantly. Logan rolled his eyes.

“Roman, how many times have I told you that senselessly teleporting will only succeed in exhausting yourself,” Logan sighed exasperatedly. Roman rolled his eyes and waved his hand at Logan dismissively.

“You’re not my mom, Logan! Besides, I’m totally fine!” Roman protested. Logan sighed and took another sip of coffee.

“I mean, he has a point Logan. He must be fine, since he’s being as arrogant and insufferable as usual,” Virgil said, smirking. Roman made an affronted sound.

“Take that back, Doom-and-Gloom!” Roman demanded, steam starting to spew from his ears, and sparks began flying from his fingertips.

“Or what? I’m an immortal vampire, you idiot. Unless you’re hiding silver, garlic, or a wooden stake nearby, there’s not exactly much you can do,” Virgil scoffed, baring his fangs.

“Try me,” Roman growled. Virgil started to step forward, but was stopped by Patton stepping in between him and Roman.

“That is enough! I will not have you two fighting in my kitchen!” Patton exclaimed, fixing each of them with his signature “Dad Glare”. Roman’s ears stopped steaming, and the sparks ceased as well. He took a step backwards, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Virgil just stared at the ground guiltily, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Sorry, Patton,” they said in unison. Both of their heads shot up, locking eyes, and Roman and Virgil broke off into nervous laughter, each of them blushing slightly. Logan let out the breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. He then glanced at his watch and saw that it was 7:10 a.m.

“Well, now that everything seems to be resolved, Virgil and I should get going to Ekeisdale High School. We don’t want to be late for work,” Logan pointed out.

“Alright, just let me change quick and grab my bag, and we can go,” Virgil replied, zipping out of the kitchen, and returning within seconds. He was now wearing a dark purple plaid shirt, black blazer, dark wash jeans, and black dress shoes. He had a brown messenger bag slung over one shoulder, and in his hand he held a black umbrella.

“How do you somehow manage to have both the aesthetic of a hipster in his early twenties and an old man in his eighties?” Roman scoffed. Virgil rolled his eyes.

“Maybe that’s because I’m 228, Roman,” Virgil replied.

“Please, enough of your bickering, or we’ll never get to school at this rate,” Logan sighed. Virgil huffed out a breath, but started to walk out of the kitchen. Logan followed him, only stopping to grab his bag and keys. The two of them walked out to Logan’s car, and drove to Ekeisdale High School.

* * *

Logan pulled into the school parking lot about ten minutes later, relieved that they weren’t late. And yes, while the school day technically started at 8:00 a.m, students tended to arrive there from 7:30-7:45 a.m to either hang out with friends or get help from teachers before the day started. So Logan found it important to arrive at school no later than 7:20 a.m.

Virgil and Logan walked side by side to the main entrance of the school building. Although it was a cloudy day, and Virgil technically wouldn’t be at risk of burning in the lack of sunlight, he still had his umbrella out and opened. It made the both of them stick out like a sore thumb, but no one questioned them, since Virgil had a reputation of being a... grumpy... teacher at times. That is, no one questioned them except for a group of three students who were walking in. Logan recognized them as Thomas, Joan, and Talyn, three very bright students in his chemistry class.

“Mr. Caelius, why do you have your umbrella out?” Thomas asked.

“I’ve got a… rare skin disease. Basically, I get very bad sunburns very easily,” Virgil answered.

“But... it’s cloudy out,” Talyn pointed out. Virgil shrugged.

“Better safe than sorry,” he replied.

“I guess that makes sense. Have a good day, Mr. Caelius and Mr. Taylor,” Talyn said, walking off with their friends.

“Yeah, see ya third period for U.S. History and sixth period for Chemistry,” Joan added, looking first at Virgil, then at Logan. Thomas simply waved a goodbye at the two teachers, then followed Joan and Talyn into the school building.

“Rare skin disease? Really?” Logan muttered when the three students were out of earshot.

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Hi, I’m a vampire and I’ll burn if I’m in the sun for too long?’” Virgil hissed.

“I suppose not. But what would have you done if they had asked you the name of your so-called ‘skin disease’?” Logan asked.

“I probably would’ve panicked and attacked them,” Virgil said.

“Virgil!” Logan whisper-shouted, swatting his arm.

“Relax, I’m only kidding. Sort of,” Virgil replied, muttering the last sentence. Logan rolled his eyes and pretended he didn’t hear the last statement. And with that, the science teacher and history teacher walked into the school building, and started their day.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the home of Logan Taylor, Virgil Caelius, Roman Silvestri, and Patton Bellamy, Patton was dealing with his own sort of… dilemma. He was cleaning up the kitchen, with some magical assistance from Roman, and was chattering a mile a minute.

“Roman, what am I gonna do? We almost kissed today! Does that mean he does like me, or was I just reading his emotions wrong? If only Virgil hadn’t interrupted us…” Patton trailed off, pausing in his actions of washing the dishes. Roman nearly dropped the plate he was levitating to the cabinet in shock.

“You almost kissed today?!” he squeaked. Patton nodded and blushed slightly, busying himself with scrubbing the pan he had used to make the pancakes.

“C’mon, Patton! Give me details!” Roman urged, levitating the plate into the cabinet at last.

“Nothing much happened! I told him how I was starting to feel a little off because of the full moon coming up, and I asked him if I was looking anymore wolf-like. So he examined me, and we got a little close to each other. And right as we were about to kiss, Virgil walked in and asked what we were doing,” Patton explained.

“Sounds like the answer to Virgil’s question got pretty close to ‘each other’, hmm?” Roman teased, smirking. Patton let out a surprised squeak.

“Roman!” Patton shouted, reaching into the sink and flinging a handful of bubbles at him. The bubbles hit Roman in the shoulder, and he made an offended sound.

“This means WAR, Patton!” Roman cried out, conjuring a flurry of bubbles and sending them flying towards him. Patton broke into a fit of giggles and tried to evade the bubbles flying towards him. Unfortunately, they hit him in the face anyhow.

“Roman, no fair! I can’t conjure bubbles!” Patton protested, wiping the bubbles away from his eyes and off his face.

“Then don’t challenge a mage! And about Logan, I think it’s about time you two sat down and talked about it,” Roman suggested. Patton sighed.

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll talk to him about it tonight, after I’m done at the veterinary clinic,” Patton agreed. Roman smiled.

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an audition coming up tomorrow, and I need to practice,” Roman said, starting to walk away.

“Ooh! What are you auditioning for?” Patton asked.

“The Ekeisdale Theatre Company is planning to put on a production of West Side Story,” Roman replied over his shoulder.

“Sounds exciting! I know you’ll do great!” Patton encouraged, turning back to the sink and washing the last of the breakfast dishes.

“Thank you, Patton,” Roman replied with a smile, then left the kitchen and headed up to his room. Patton finished washing and drying the dishes, humming to himself as he worked. But little did he know, someone was watching him. Someone who should not have been in the house.

Suddenly, Patton felt a sharp stinging sensation in his neck. He yelped, and brought a hand up to his neck, surprised to find something there. He grabbed the thing and yanked it out. He looked in his hand to see a small dart. Before he could question what it was and where it had come from, he suddenly felt dizzy. His vision blurred, and he started to sway slightly. His knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground with a groan. Before he fully lost consciousness, he saw a figure step into his vision.

“Sleep well, little wolf,” a voice taunted. And with that, Patton knew only darkness.


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Virgil run into some trouble, and Logan is left to solve the mystery.

Roman was in the midst of practicing “Maria” from West Side Story when he heard a muffled thump come from downstairs. He frowned, and set down the music he was reading from on the piano in his room.

“Patton? Is everything alright?” Roman called out. His frown deepened when there was no reply. Something was wrong. He got up from the piano bench and cautiously left his room. The hallway was eerily dark, so to remedy this issue, Roman summoned a flame in the palm of his hand. He then headed down the hallway, and then down the stairs. The first floor of the house was dark too, and Roman willed the flame to grow brighter.

“Patton? What’s going on?” Roman called out again. Roman then heard the shuffling of movement behind him. He whirled around, but didn’t see anyone there. Suddenly, something slammed into the back of his head. The force sent Roman tumbling forward, and the flame in his hand spluttered out, sending the room into darkness once more. He groaned and tried to scramble back to his feet, but someone pinned Roman to the ground with a knee digging into his back.

“Hmm… a Silvestri and a werewolf? I can’t wait to meet your other housemates,” a voice purred in his ear.

“I swear, if you hurt them, you’re going to- ah!” Roman growled, but his voice broke off into a shout when something pricked his neck. He squirmed and writhed, trying to free himself from beneath the person on top of him.

“None of that, Silvestri. Your kind need to be dealt with,” the voice hissed. Roman tried to summon a flame again, but instead cried out as he felt a jolt of pain in his abdomen. He felt nauseous, and groaned as his vision swam. The figure pinning him to the ground became to cackle.

“The hell did you do to me?!” he demanded between clenched teeth.

“I injected you with a little something to keep you from becoming a problem,” they taunted. Roman felt himself becoming weaker and weaker, as if his very life force was being drained from him. This was worse than the time Roman had magically exhausted himself back in college.

“What… do you- uhnn- want?” Roman gasped out, finding it harder and harder to stay conscious.

“What do I want? Simple. I want the world to be rid of mages, monsters, and other mythical scum like yourself,” they scoffed.

“This- this is our world too,” Roman protested weakly. The figure above him grabbed him by his hair and yanked his head up harshly, causing Roman to cry out in pain.

“Listen to me, Silvestri. Your kind have made this world impure. And I must be the one to cleanse it,” they snarled, then threw his head down harshly. Roman’s forehead slammed against the floor, and he fell into the dark embrace of unconsciousness with a groan.

* * *

Virgil wasn’t sure how much longer he could handle this school day. It was only third period, and already he felt pretty done with the day. It seemed most of the students in his class felt the same way. The only ones who were actively paying attention were Thomas, Joan, Talyn, and a shy girl who sat in the front row.

“Now class, when did the Industrial Revolution start in America?” Virgil asked. No one raised their hands. That is, until the shy girl in the front row raised her hand.

“Yes, Annika, was it?” Virgil asked. The girl nodded, brushing a lock of curly brown hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. And didn’t it start when that guy memorized the blueprints for a cotton mill? In like, 1800?” Annika said, blue eyes filled with uncertainty.

“1789, but yes. Do you remember his name?” Virgil quizzed.

“Erm…” she trailed off. Just then, the bell rang, and all of the students scurried out of Virgil’s classroom. Virgil sighed, grateful that he had a prep period next, and not an actual class. He walked over to his desk, steps faltering slightly when he suddenly felt woozy. Fuck. In his rush to get to school, he forgot to take care of his vampiric needs. Good thing he kept emergency plasma in his bag. But, when he looked in his bag, it wasn’t there. Frowning, he pulled out his phone and dialed Patton’s number. It rang and rang, but went to Patton’s voicemail.

“Hi kiddo! Sorry I couldn’t answer your call, leave me a message and I’ll get back to you!” came Patton’s recorded voice. Virgil’s frown grew deeper, and decided to try calling Roman instead. Again, the phone rang for a bit, then went to voicemail.

“Hello! I do apologize for not being able to answer your call, but I am a fabulous person who has a lot of things to do! Leave a message, and I shall valiantly try to get back to you!” Roman’s recorded voice declared. A sinking feeling grew in his gut. Why did neither Patton nor Roman answer? Was something wrong? Virgil knew he had to get home right away. His fourth period was free, and next was lunch, so Virgil had plenty of time to go home, grab plasma and check on Patton and Roman, then come back to teach. He sent a quick text to Logan, letting him know what he was doing, then grabbed his bag and umbrella and zoomed over to his house.

He arrived at the home he shared with his friends in seconds. He fumbled with his things for a moment, but managed to get out his keys and unlock the door. He walked inside, and was surprised to see that the lights were off. Not that it was an issue for Virgil, being a vampire, he could see very well in the dark.

Suddenly, Virgil heard scuffling coming from the living room. He carefully and quietly slung his bag off his shoulder, and put it down along with his umbrella. Virgil then crept down the hallway, past the kitchen and dining room, and into the living room. What he saw when he entered made his heart pound against his chest with a mix of fear and anger. Roman was sprawled on the floor, out cold and breathing shallowly, with someone on top of him, their knee digging into his back. Virgil snarled and lunged at the figure, successfully tackling them off of Roman and to the ground.

“The hell are you doing here?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t bite your neck and drain you dry right now,” Virgil growled. The person’s face split into a wide grin, and they began to cackle.

“How amusing… a vampire caring so much for a Silvestri,” they drawled. Virgil snarled, and sank his fangs into their neck, beginning to drink from them. However, something was… wrong… about their blood. Virgil suddenly felt like he was being burned from the inside out, and he detached himself from the person’s throat with a cry of pain. Virgil’s body began to break out in tremors, and his throat felt like it was closing in on itself. He was then shoved to the side by the individual beneath him, and Virgil clutched at his throat, gasping for air.

“Is that a good enough reason to not bite me, hmm? Before I came here, I injected myself with a serum that has high concentrates of garlic. Something people of your kind are, shall we say, allergic to. Although, I’ve never had the pleasure of witnessing the effects of a vampire ingesting garlic before,” they taunted, standing up and circling around Virgil.

“M-mon-nster,” Virgil choked out. The figure huffed out a laugh.

“No, Mr. Caelius, I believe that title belongs to you,” they scoffed.

“So now what? You just leave me to die?” Virgil rasped.

“Unfortunately, no. My employer wants you alive, for some reason,” they replied with a sigh. They then reached into the pocket of their jacket and pulled out a syringe. Virgil tensed up, the tremors wracking his body becoming stronger. His insides felt as if they were on fire, and he barely noticed when the figure had come closer and inserted the needle into his thigh. Virgil’s body soon stopped shaking, his throat no longer felt quite as closed up, and the burning sensation subsided. Virgil felt exhausted and a little lightheaded from the sudden “allergic reaction”, and could feel his grasp on consciousness fading fast.

“You put up a much bigger fight than the other two did… I can’t wait to begin playing with you,” they crooned. And with that, the world around Virgil faded into black.

* * *

Logan looked at his phone and frowned. It was the end of the school day now, and he hadn't heard or seen from Virgil since the text that he had sent around fourth period. The two of them usually would meet up for lunch, but Virgil had failed to show up at Logan's classroom. He was about to head down to Virgil's classroom, but someone knocked on his classroom door. He walked up to the door and opened it to see Joan standing outside with a nervous expression on their face.

“Joan? Is everything alright?” Logan asked, stepping aside to let them into his classroom.

“Have you seen Thomas or Talyn anywhere? I haven’t seen either of them since your sixth period chemistry class,” Joan asked.

“No, I haven’t. Do you usually see them after school?” Logan asked.

“Yeah, and Thomas and I have choir eighth period, but he wasn’t there,” Joan replied.

“Perhaps Thomas wasn’t feeling well, and left school early?” Logan suggested.

“Yeah, but it’s unlike him not to say anything about it. And that doesn’t explain where Talyn is,” they pointed out.

“Hmm. Well, I am sure the two of them are alright. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find my colleague, Mr. Caelius,” Logan replied, and started to walk out of his room. He was stopped by the principal, Ms. Valerie Torres, who was standing in the doorway.

“Ms. Torres? Is there something you require?” Logan asked.

“Yes. You live with Mr. Caelius, correct?” she asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?” Logan replied, puzzlement flickering over his features.

“He disappeared around fourth period, and didn’t show up to teach any of his afternoon classes. This is very odd behavior for him, and I worried that something… happened to him,” Ms. Torres answered.

“That is strange. He sent me a text earlier, saying that he went home to retrieve something he had left there. I wonder why he never returned to school…” Logan trailed off, a sinking feeling of despair settling in his stomach.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Taylor. I am sure he is fine. I just wanted to let you know what happened. I hope that everything works out okay,” Ms. Torres said, a warm and reassuring smile upon her lips. And with that, she turned around and walked out of the doorway. Logan frowned, puzzling over today’s events in his mind. He glanced over at Joan, who was standing there with a concerned expression on their face. Logan’s eyes widened slightly as he came to the conclusion that it couldn’t be a coincidence that Joan’s friends and Virgil had disappeared in the same day. But why? It wasn’t as if those three had anything in common… unless…

“Joan, there is something of utmost importance that I must ask you,” Logan stated briskly, closing the door and walking back over to them.

“Uh… sure, go ahead,” they replied, a little startled by Logan’s sudden outburst.

“Your friends, Thomas and Talyn, are they human?” Logan asked. Joan let out a startled yelp.

“Uhhh, yeah! Yeah, of course they’re human, why would you ask something like that?” they rambled. Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Joan, I know it’s an odd question, but I need you to tell me the truth. It is the only possible connection I could draw between them and Mr. Caelius,” Logan replied.

“Okay, okay, they aren’t human. Thomas is a shapeshifter, and Talyn is a werecat. And what do you mean, ‘only possible connection’? Are you saying that their disappearances are connected?” Joan asked. Logan sighed.

“Mr. Caelius is a vampire. And from what you’ve told me, it seems that someone is targeting mythical folk. And… oh no,” Logan said, trailing off when an awful realization came to him.

“Mr Taylor? Is everything alright?” Joan asked, their momentary surprise at the revelation about Virgil being replaced by concern.

“Patton… Roman… I need to get home immediately,” Logan said shakily. He started to leave, but was stopped when Joan put a hand on his arm.

“What’s wrong? Who’s Patton and Roman?” Joan asked.

“They’re two of my housemates, a werewolf and a mage. If someone took Virgil, then they might be after them too,” Logan replied, starting to wrestle away from Joan’s grip.

“Let me come with you. Two heads might be better than one on this,” they offered. Logan considered his options for a moment, then gave a defeated sigh. Joan was one of his brightest students, and their friends had gone missing too.

“Very well. Now come along, time is of the essence,” Logan said. And the two of them left for the parking lot, and drove to Logan’s house.


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton and the others wake up in a strange place...

Patton woke up with a groan. His eyes sluggishly opened, and he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. What happened? Where was he? The last thing Patton could remember was washing the dishes… and then the memories came flying back to Patton. The dart, the dizziness, and that haunting voice. Whoever they were, they knew what he was.

Patton sprang to his feet, and glanced around, taking in his surroundings. He was in some sort of cell, with bars in front of him and to his left, and there was a wall to his right and behind him.  Patton could see more cells on the other side of the bars. Through the bars on his left, he could see a trembling figure in the shadows. He looked further down, and saw two more individuals. Looking at the cells in front of him, he saw a tank with a selkie, another figure that was pacing back and forth in their cell, and the other two cells were empty. The “prison” was dimly lit, and Patton wondered who the other people were, and if his friends were okay.

He reached and grabbed one of the cell’s bars, but let out a sudden cry of pain and let go of the bar, stumbling backwards. It felt as if the bar was red hot, and that he had burned his hand. He looked down at the hand he was cradling to his chest, and saw that it was smoking slightly. The bars must have been made of silver.

“Hey mister, are you okay?” a voice asked. Patton looked over, and saw that the trembling figure in the cell next to his had moved closer to him. Now that he was closer, Patton could see that the figure was a boy, around sixteen or seventeen, and he had purple hair and warm brown eyes that were wide with a mix of fear and concern.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Silver isn’t good for werewolves,” Patton explained, cautiously walking closer to the boy on the other side of the bars.

“You’re a werewolf?” the boy asked in disbelief.

“Yup!” Patton replied, smiling despite the fear that was clawing its way up in his chest. He had no idea where he was, or why he was even here, but he had to put on a brave face for this kid.

“That’s cool, I guess. My name’s Thomas Sanders, and I’m a shapeshifter. What’s your name?” he asked.

“I’m Patton, Patton Bellamy. Nice to meet ya, kiddo. I wish the circumstances were better though…” Patton trailed off.

“Me too, Mr. Bellamy,” Thomas agreed. Patton let out a small laugh.

“There’s no need to be so formal, Thomas. We’re in a… well, to be honest, I don’t know where we are, but you can just call me Patton,” he said, smiling gently.

“Oh. Okay then, Patton,” he replied. There was a moment of silence, until Thomas spoke up again.

“D-do you know why we’re here? I’m scared…” he whimpered. Patton gently reached through the bars to place a reassuring hand on Thomas’s shoulder. His arm stung a little as it grazed the silver bars, but Thomas needed comfort, and a little pain wasn’t going to stop Patton.

“It’s okay, Thomas. I don’t know why we’re here, and it’s perfectly fine to be scared. Someone’s going to notice that we’ve disappeared, and they’ll come looking for us,” Patton assured him. Thomas gave a small, weak smile, and Patton let go of his shoulder and carefully slid his arm back into his cell.

“Patton? Is that you?” a voice called out. Patton looked up and saw that the figure in the cell next to Thomas’s had stood up. Patton squinted, and gasped when he recognized the individual.

“Virgil?” he asked. Thomas made a small sound of surprise.

“Wait… Mr. Caelius? What are you doing here?” Thomas asked, bewildered.

“You didn’t seriously buy my ‘rare skin skin disease’ story, did you?” Virgil scoffed.

“You’re a vampire,” Thomas realized.

“Yup. Are you guys okay? Those bastards didn’t hurt you too bad, did they?” Virgil asked.

“I’m fine. The bars are made of silver, and that kinda burned me a little, but otherwise I’m okay,” Patton replied.

“I’d rather not talk about it. But I’m fine,” Thomas answered quickly, curling in on himself slightly. Patton opened his mouth to comfort Thomas, but he suddenly heard footsteps reaching the prison. Patton’s heart leapt into his throat as a figure strolled in, their glare zeroed in on him. Virgil began to growl low in his throat, causing the figure to chuckle slightly.

“Good to see you again as well. But it is not yet time to play with you. I’m here for the little wolf,” they sneered, and Patton’s blood ran cold when he recognized the voice. It was the same one he had heard right before he had blacked out. They walked over to his cell, and Patton couldn’t help but shrink back in fear.

“I swear, if you hurt him, you’re going to regret it for the rest of your short, miserable life,” Virgil snarled. The figure laughed again.

“You’re in no position to be making demands, Mr. Caelius,” they replied sharply. They then reached out in between the bars, grabbing Patton by the shirt collar and yanking him against the bars. Patton gave out a strangled cry as the silver bars burned against his skin. He tried to escape the person’s grip, but they held him fast against the bars. Suddenly, after a few moments of pure agony for Patton, the bars were gone, and he fell onto his knees. Patton’s vision was blurry, and the world slowly came back into focus. The cell door had been opened, and the individual still had a firm grip on him. He was then forcibly pulled to his feet and practically dragged out of the prison.

* * *

Virgil watched helplessly as the figure pulled Patton against the silver bars, and then dragged Patton out of the prison. He knew that Patton’s screams of pain would now forever haunt his nightmares. Virgil glanced around, taking in the dimly lit prison. And his heart broke a little at the fact that he recognized everyone being held there. Talyn was in the cell across from his, pacing back and forth and running their hands through their hair, clearly distressed at the events that just took place. He recognized the selkie in the tank as one of his students, Annika, and she was swimming back and forth nervously, blue eyes wide with fear. Thomas was in the cell next to his, and he was sat on the floor, hugging his knees and shaking slightly. Virgil wanted to comfort him, but he frankly didn’t know how to. And he was too busy worrying about the person in the cell on the other side of him to try. That person, being Roman. He was sprawled on the floor, out cold and barely breathing.

“What did they do to you, Roman?” he murmured. Sure, Roman was annoying as all heck, but he didn’t deserve this. None of these people did.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness came over Virgil, and he groaned, reaching out and bracing himself against the wall with one hand. He felt a raw hunger within him, and fear for the other people in the prison began to clutch at his heart. The bars may be made of silver, but Virgil seriously doubted those would stop him if he got desperate enough.

“Mr. Caelius? Are you okay?” Thomas asked.

“First off.. no. Secondly, just call me Virgil, kid. We’re obviously not at school anymore,” Virgil replied through clenched teeth.

“Uh, okay. What’s wrong, Virgil?” Thomas asked.

“He’s a vampire, Thomas. My guess? He hasn’t drank enough blood,” Talyn piped up.

“Nailed it right on the head, Talyn. And if I become so desperate that I lose control of myself, I don’t think these silver bars are gonna stop me from getting to all of you,” Virgil groaned out, his knees buckling and sending him to the floor.

“Then drink from me,” Thomas said. Virgil looked up and saw Thomas kneeling and offering his wrist through the bars and towards him. It took all of Virgil’s self-control to not race over and sink his fangs into Thomas’s wrist.

“Kid… what if I lose control and can’t stop? What if I kill you, Thomas?” Virgil asked anxiously.

“Mr. Caelius- erm, Virgil- that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Don’t tell Mr. Taylor I said this, but you are my favorite teacher. And I don’t want to just sit idly by while you’re suffering. Let me help you,” Thomas replied, and Virgil was slightly awed at his determination and confidence despite the circumstances. Virgil scooted over and reached out to gently take Thomas’s wrist. He started to lean down slightly, but stopped and glanced up at Thomas. He gave a firm nod, and smiled.

“This might feel… strange,” Virgil warned, then sank his fangs into Thomas’s wrist. He then slowly began to drink from Thomas, not wanting to do too much at once. Thomas suddenly took in a sharp breath, and Virgil stopped and looked up at him.

“Sorry, just feels weird. Carry on,” he urged, despite the fact that he looked a little pale. Virgil squinted at him slightly, but continued to drink from him anyhow. Thomas’s blood tasted different from other blood he had drank before. Virgil guessed it had something to do with the fact that Thomas wasn’t human. He vaguely wondered what Thomas was, but suddenly the blood shifted in taste. It was almost as if he had somehow increased the iron levels in his blood.

Virgil pulled away after a few seconds, feeling fully replenished despite not drinking all that much from Thomas. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, looking at Thomas curiously. The boy was leaning against the bars a bit, looking exhausted.

“How did you do that?” Virgil asked.

“Do what?” he asked tiredly.

“You made your blood higher in iron. I barely drank any from you, and yet I feel like I won’t have to feed for at least a day or two,” Virgil replied.

“Heh. I wasn’t sure if that actually worked or not. No wonder I feel so tired,” Thomas said with a hoarse laugh.

“But… how did you make that happen?” Virgil asked.

“He’s a shapeshifter. And both me and Joan have told him several times that he shouldn’t overexert himself like that,” Talyn answered, glaring slightly at Thomas.

“Talynnnn, I’m fiiiine,” Thomas wined. They rolled their eyes in response. Virgil smiled in spite of himself. It was nice to see those two interact as they usually would, even if the situation was pretty grim.

“So, Talyn, I can’t help but wonder if you’re human or not,” Virgil asked, breaking the momentary silence.

“Nah, I’m not human. I’m a werecat. It’s pretty much exactly like a werewolf, except for at every full moon I turn into a humanoid cat creature,” Talyn explained. Virgil nodded in understanding, and was about to say something else, but was cut off by a groan from off to his left. He looked over and saw that Roman was beginning to stir. His face was scrunched up with pain, and he let out another groan as his eyes fluttered open.

“Roman?” Virgil asked, kneeling down and getting as close to Roman as he could with the bars in the way.

“Virrg-gil?” he croaked, eyes unfocused and dull.

“Yeah, it’s me, Roman. I’m right here,” Virgil replied, voice slightly shaky for some reason. It wasn’t as if he cared for this idiot. That would be ridiculous.

“Virge- I can’t… everythings... my magic,” Roman babbled, half-formed sentences stringing together in a jumbled mess.

“What? Roman, what happened to you?” Virgil asked.

“They did somethin’... to- to block my magic. Hurts,” he whimpered. Virgil clenched his jaw, anger simmering beneath his skin. He would make whoever caused all of this pay.

Suddenly, a chilling, haunting sound echoed down the hall. It was a strangely animalistic scream, and Virgil’s anger turned to fear. That, without a doubt, was Patton’s scream.   


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Joan find Patton...

Logan struggled to stay calm as he drove to his house with Joan. His mind kept racing at the possibilities of what might have happened to his friends as well as his students. He knew there were powerful organizations out there that definitely didn’t support the mythical community. It was part of why so many mythical folks kept who they were a secret, lest these organizations and cruel and ignorant people hurt them. Not everyone was as supportive and kind towards mythicals like Logan and Joan were.

They reached the house about ten minutes later, and Logan practically jumped out of his car and sprinted to his front door. Joan followed behind him, feeling a mix of surprise and apprehension at seeing their usual calm and collected teacher so panicked. Logan fumbled with his keys for a moment, but then was surprised to find the door unlocked. That didn’t bode well. He opened the door and walked inside, Joan following him. And Logan’s heart stuttered in his chest when he saw that the house was completely dark.

“Patton? Roman? Virgil?” Logan called out, turning on a light and glancing around to try and find any sign of them. He saw Virgil’s bag and umbrella discarded on the floor, as if he had set them down in a hurry. He walked into the living room, and gasped at the slight disarray the room was in. A chair was flipped on its side, a lamp had been knocked over, and a vase that usually sat on the mantle was lying on the floor. What had happened here?

“Mr. Taylor, I found something,” Joan’s voice came, startling Logan out of his thoughts. Logan turned to face them, and dared to hope.

“Yes, what is it?” Logan asked, anticipation and nervousness skittering beneath his skin.

“I found this in the kitchen. It looks like a poisoned dart of some sort,” Joan replied, holding the small object out to Logan.

“Technically, it would be a venomous dart, as it would be injected into the victim,” Logan corrected, his voice catching in his throat as he realized that one of his friends most likely was the victim. Logan took the dart from Joan, and gently turned it over in his hands. That’s when he noticed that there was a small inscription on one side of the dart. Unfortunately, it was too small to read. But, luckily for them, Logan had magnifying glasses upstairs in his room.

“Come with me, Joan. I believe there is an inscription on this dart, and I have magnifying glasses upstairs in my room. If we can see what this says, we are that much closer to finding them,” Logan ordered, heading over the staircase and walking up them. Joan followed, and the two of them went up the stairs, to Logan’s room.

Logan walked into his room, turning on the lights as he came in, then strode over to his desk where he kept the magnifying glasses. He opened the side drawer and grabbed one, then turned on his desk lamp and sat down. He put the magnifying glass up to the dart, and began to read what the inscription was.

“It says D.O.M.E.” Logan declared, brows knitting together in puzzlement.

“Dome? What is that supposed to mean?” Joan asked.

“I’m not sure. It appears to be an acronym for something,” Logan replied. He set both the dart and magnifying glass down on his desk, and then proceeded to open his laptop, which was sitting on his desk, plugged in. He first just searched “D.O.M.E.”, which only brought up pictures of architecture. He then searched “D.O.M.E. mythical folk”, and was both relieved and scared to see that he actually found something. He clicked on the first link, and Joan read over his shoulder.

“Department of Mythical Extermination?” they said, voice quavering. Logan stared at the page in shock.

“If you suspect a mythical in your neighborhood, call D.O.M.E. We will take care of the problem immediately,” Logan read.

“Oh my- oh my god, Mr. Taylor… you- you don’t think that-” Joan stuttered, hands flying to their mouth in terror. Logan shot up from his desk and reached out to place his hands on the trembling teenager’s shoulders.

“Joan, we must have hope. Patton, Roman, Virgil, Thomas, and Talyn must be out there somewhere. Maybe this… D.O.M.E. organization has an address of some sort on their website. We can begin our investigation there,” Logan soothed. For him, making a plan always made him feel better. It seemed to soothe Joan’s nerves as well, and Logan sighed in relief, removing his hands from their shoulders.

“Now, let's see if there is an address listed anywhere,” Logan said, sitting back down at his desk. He scrolled through the site, skimming through the information to see if he could find anything of use to them.

“Aha! 113 Malchor Drive. It's right outside of Ekeisdale,” Logan declared once he had found it.

“Guess we're going on a little trip then,” Joan replied. Logan frowned.

“Joan, these people could be very dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt,” Logan warned. A look of determination came over their face.

“With all due respect, Mr. Taylor, these are my friends we are talking about. Either I go with you, or I find a way to get there myself,” they said fiercely. Logan was taken aback for a moment, then sighed.

“Very well. Shall we be on our way?” Logan asked.

“Yeah, let's get our friends back,” Joan replied.

* * *

Patton lost track of how many hallways he had been led down. The figure dragging him along suddenly stopped, opened a seemingly random door, and shoved Patton inside. The room appeared to be a lab of some sort, with a large table in the middle with restraints attached to it. Patton shivered and swallowed down the lump in his throat.

“Get on the table, unless you want me to go back and hurt one of your friends. Or maybe that shapeshifter you seemed to take a liking to…” they growled. Patton quickly obeyed them, heart hammering against his chest at the thought of harm coming to any of the people back in the cells. The figure secured the restraints around Patton's wrist and ankles, and stepped back with a wicked grin.

“Mr. Bellamy. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting. Properly, at least. My name is Dr. Ellis Kinsey. I'm one of the head scientists here at D.O.M.E.” they said.

“Dome?” Patton asked. Dr. Kinsey glared at Patton, but answered anyway.

“Department Of Mythical Extermination. And I would highly suggest not speaking unless spoken to, wolf,” they snarled, reaching out and yanking Patton's head up by his hair, causing to cry out in pain.

“Is. That. Clear?” Dr. Kinsey asked, face inches from Patton's. Patton nodded with a whimper. The doctor smiled and let go of Patton's hair, causing his head to fall back against the table with a thump.

“Now, I have a very interesting theory I’d like to test. A few days ago, we captured a moonlight fairy. They're pesky little pixies that are born from moonbeams. They also radiate pure moonlight. And I wondered, what would happen if a were-creature of some sort was brought into the presence of one?” they lectured, walking over to a nearby counter and grabbing a jar off of it. Patton had thought it was a light of some sort at first, but as Dr. Kinsey walked closer to him, Patton could see a tiny humanoid form. She had short, silvery-white hair, glowing lavender eyes, and iridescent purple wings. Her dress seemed to be made of silver leaves, and Patton's heart ached to see the poor creature trapped.

“Hmmph. Even when your life is being threatened, you still are more concerned about others,” Dr. Kinsey scoffed when he saw Patton’s expression. He then opened the jar, and grabbed the fairy out of it. The poor creature struggled in the doctor’s grip, and Patton winced both at the harsh treatment of the fairy, and at the moonlight radiating from her. He grit his teeth together as he felt them becoming more canine-like. Dr. Kinsey cocked their head to the side, watching with a bemused grin.

“It doesn’t take much, does it?” they asked, shifting the fairy in their grip so they were holding her by the wings. The fairy let out a cry of pain that sounded like wind chimes clanging together. Dr. Kinsey dangled the fairy in front of Patton’s face, and a growl slipped past his lips. His body began to break out in tremors, and his hair became longer and shaggier. Patton’s ears started to become pointed, and his fingernails sharpened into claws. As these changes came rapidly to Patton, his insides felt as if they were on fire. Sure, transforming had always hurt, but this was different.

Patton suddenly let out a scream that sounded more like a wounded animal than a human. Dr. Kinsey grinned as Patton writhed on the lab table, becoming more wolfish by the second. Their grin faded, however, when the bonds around Patton’s wrists and ankles began to creak and groan because of his rapidly growing body. Dr. Kinsey hatily shoved the fairy back into the jar, and sealed the lid back on. But it was too late, and Patton’s transformation was almost complete. They scuttled out of the lab, slamming the door shut and locking it behind him. They proceeded to sprint down the hallway, only to run into a man wearing glasses, black polo shirt, blue tie, and jeans; along with a teenager with an orange beanie at his side.

“Ah! I’m terribly sorry, but there is a… erm… situation in the lab. This area is no longer safe,” the doctor rambled, and the man with glasses raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, a woman came running down the hallway.

“I’m so sorry, doctor, I tried to stop them, but they insisted on coming down here,” she apologized.

“Nevermind that-” they started, but was cut off by a bone-chilling howl coming from the lab.

“Patton…” the man gasped. He started to walk towards the door, but was halted by Dr. Kinsey stepping in his way.

“You are not permitted to go back there,” they warned.

“That is my... friend… you most likely have back there. It is a violation of human rights to keep someone against their will, is it not?” the man replied, glaring at Dr. Kinsey.

“That only applies to humans. That mythical, that monster back there, is not deserving of human rights,” they scoffed. The man clenched his fists, and opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by the lab door suddenly bursting open, falling off of its hinges.

* * *

Logan gasped in shock as Patton, now in wolf form, burst out of the room that the doctor was so insistent on not letting them go into. Patton growled and locked eyes with Logan, baring his teeth. The woman from before shrieked, and ran away.

“Well, since you’re so desperate to see that scum you call a friend,” the doctor said, grabbing Logan by the arm and shoving him towards Patton. Logan stumbled forward, and put his hands up in a placating gesture. Behind him, the doctor scuttled away, and Joan stood frozen to the spot.

“Patton, it’s me, it’s Logan,” Logan begged, meeting Patton’s yellow wolf-like eyes. Patton simply growled again and bared his teeth in response.

“Joan, I will keep Patton occupied. I need you to find the others. There has to be a holding cell or something in this place. Can you do that?” Logan asked, not daring to break away from Patton’s gaze to look back at them.

“Yeah, yeah I can do that,” Joan replied, slowly edging their way around Patton and Logan. Patton seemed to focused on Logan to care that they were walking past him. Logan stepped closer to Patton, and he let out another growl.

“Patton, I know you would never hurt me,” Logan said, his voice surprisingly calm. He growled again, but it was softer, and less wolf-like. A mask of confusion came over Logan’s face, but he kept slowly moving forward. With each step, Patton seemed to be reverting to his human form. His hair became shorter, his snout started to once again resemble a human face, and his canine teeth and claws began change back to normal. Soon Logan was mere inches away from Patton, and he tentatively reached out and took Patton’s hand in his. And just like that, all signs of the wolf faded away, and Patton was standing there, looking human again. He looked extremely tired, but his face broke out into a small smile when he saw Logan.

“Logan…” he breathed out. Then, without warning, he reached out and gently grabbed Logan by his arms, and pulled him into a soft kiss. Logan's mind blanked out for a moment, but then he slowly kissed Patton back, eyes slipping shut. Patton pulled away far too soon for his liking, and Logan started to lean forward again. He was stopped by a soft laugh from Patton and a hand on his chest.

“Logan, you saved me. You know what that means?” Patton asked.

“Whatever they did to you wore off?” Logan asked, puzzled. Patton laughed.

“No, silly. A werewolf can only revert to human form if they come in contact with their true love,” Patton beamed. Logan gasped, and a small grin broke out over his face. He leaned in, and Patton let him.

Suddenly, before their lips could meet, the sound of a gunshot was heard. Logan let out a strangled cry of pain, and he collapsed onto Patton.

“Logan!” Patton cried out, barely catching him as he fell. He looked up, and saw Dr. Kinsey standing there, a smoking gun in hand.


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Great Rescue.

Virgil paced back and forth nervously in his cell. He had heard screams, howling, and just now there was a gunshot. Roman was looking slightly more alert now, he was sitting up and leaning against the wall, but his face was pallid and slick with a thick sheen of sweat. Thomas had his arms wrapped around himself, and he was shaking lightly, while Talyn watched him with concern in their eyes. The selkie, one of Virgil’s students, Annika, was swimming in circles so fast that it made Virgil feel slightly dizzy just watching it.

Suddenly, someone burst into the prison. Thomas, Talyn, Annika, and Roman all flinched, while Virgil growled and clenched his fists. However, his defiant expression melted away when he saw that the individual was wearing an orange beanie.

“Joan?” Virgil, Thomas, and Talyn asked in unison.

“Guys! Mr. Taylor and I came to rescue you!” they said, grinning as they took the keys that were hanging on the wall, and began to unlock the cell doors.

“How did you find us? How did you get in?” Thomas asked, arms falling to his sides and his shaking subsiding.

“The idiots that abducted you guys left behind a dart at Mr. Taylor’s house. We saw the initials ‘D.O.M.E.’ engraved on it, and it led us here. You guys should have seen Mr. Taylor when he was talking to the receptionist, he was so mad. When we heard a scream, he practically shoved the lady aside and bolted to follow the sound,” Joan explained, eyes lighting up with amusement.

Soon, everyone was freed from their cells. It took a while to figure out how to free Annika, the selkie, but soon she was standing beside them, in human form. Joan hugged Thomas and Talyn the minute they were out of the cells, leaving Virgil to help Roman. He could barely stand on his own, and was leaning on Virgil for support. Virgil had an arm around Roman’s waist, while he put the back of his other hand up to Roman’s forehead. As he suspected, Roman was burning up with quite a bad fever.

“Whatever they did to you, it’s giving you the same symptoms as magical exhaustion,” Virgil said.

“Feels worse than that…” Roman trailed off, shaking slightly.

“We can take care of you once we find-” Virgil trailed off when he heard what sounded like a tiny roar. He looked over, and in one of the cells that he had previously thought was empty actually held a small dragon, maybe about the size of a mouse. It was primarily red, with small golden details. The tiny dragon’s wings unfurled, and it flew up and out from between the bars, and came to hover in front of Virgil and Roman. Roman held his hand out, and the tiny dragon landed on it, nuzzling its head into his palm. Then, the dragon did something that Virgil didn't expect. It started crying. Its tears were like tiny droplets of gold, and as they landed on Roman's hand, they melted into his skin. Roman suddenly let out a gasp and stood up straighter, no longer leaning on Virgil so much.

“It's a phoenix dragon,” Roman gasped. Virgil raised an eyebrow, then reached up again and placed the back of his hand to Roman's forehead. His fever was rapidly decreasing as the dragon continued to cry into Roman's palm. Soon, Roman was pretty much standing on his own, his fever was gone, and his body wasn't wracked with shivers anymore. He then glanced down and saw that Virgil still had one arm protectively curled around his waist, and a wicked grin came to his lips. He snaked his free arm around Virgil's waist, and tugged him closer.

“Roman!” Virgil squeaked.

“You're the one who still had his arm around me,” Roman replied. Virgil scowled and squirmed his way out of Roman's arms.

“We have other things to worry about. Like getting out of this hell-hole, for example,” Virgil scolded. Roman shrugged, and placed the dragon on his shoulder. The two of them walked out of the holding facility, leaving the four teenagers to stand in stunned and confused silence for a moment, but then followed after them.

* * *

Patton cradled Logan's limp body to his chest, and stared at Dr. Kinsey in horror. Logan's eyes were barely staying open, and his eyes were glazed over and dulled with pain. Blood seeped through his black polo shirt, even as Patton tried to stop the bleeding with his hand putting pressure on the wound.

“I didn't want to have to kill a human, but this one was too attached to monsters like you,” Dr. Kinsey scoffed. Patton's face twisted into a grimace, tears spilling from his eyes.

“I'm not the monster. You are!” Patton cried out. Dr. Kinsey scowled, and raised their gun again. Patton clung to Logan, meeting Dr. Kinsey’s glare with his own determined one, even as tears trailed down his cheeks. Suddenly, Dr. Kinsey’s stare turned from one of scorn to one of fear as they locked eyes with something behind Patton. He risked a glance over his shoulder, and saw Virgil, Roman, Thomas, a kid with an orange beanie, a girl with blue eyes and curly brown hair, and another teenager with vibrant blue hair. He recognized the girl as the selkie from the tank back in the prison. The other two kids he didn’t recognize, but he was glad they were okay too. Virgil sprinted ahead and tackled the doctor to the ground, while Roman and the kids came to Patton’s and Logan’s side.

“Oh my… I don’t know if I can heal him, my magic isn’t fully back yet…” Roman trailed off, when a tiny squeaking roar came from somewhere on his shoulder. Roman glanced down, and Patton was surprised to see a tiny red and gold dragon, about the size of a mouse.

“Oh! How could I forget about you, my little friend? She’s a phoenix dragon, her tears have healing properties,” Roman explained, scooping the tiny dragon off his shoulder and putting her on Logan’s chest.

“Wait… how do you know it’s a she?” the teen with the orange beanie asked.

“I’m… honestly not sure Joan. I just know. It’s almost like we have some sort of… link,” Roman replied, as the dragon began to cry golden tears onto Logan’s wound. And little by little, the bleeding stopped.

“Oh my, I almost forgot! There’s a moonlight fairy trapped in a jar in that lab. She deserves to be free too,” Patton blurted out, pointing at the doorway with the door hanging off its hinges.

“I’ll get her,” the selkie said, dashing into the lab. Suddenly, a strangled shout was heard. They looked up, and saw Dr. Kinsey pinning Virgil to the ground, a wooden stake in their hands and poised above Virgil’s chest. Roman clenched his fists, and he started glowing. Patton’s eyes widened, and started to step backwards, careful not to jostle Logan in his arms.

“Kiddos, step back,” Patton warned. Roman continued to glow brighter, and Dr. Kinsey started to scramble off of Virgil and away from Roman. But it was too late. With a defiant, angry cry, Roman shot all of the glowing energy coming off of him at the doctor. The blast hit Dr. Kinsey square in the chest, and they were thrown against the wall. The doctor tried scrambling to their feet, but Roman sent another blast at them, and Dr. Kinsey fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

“Don’t you dare,” Roman said, shooting another blast. The doctor gave a muffled cry behind clenched teeth as their body writed and spasmed.

“Hurt my friends,” Roman continued, his eyes glowing and the bursts of magic growing stronger. Dr. Kinsey whimpered and cowered, trying to shield themselves from the blasts.

“EVER again,” Roman finished, sending one last blast at them, this one stronger and brighter than the rest. Dr. Kinsey screamed, their voice becoming dissonant and distorted as the magic beam incinerated their body. The bright light faded, and all that was left was a pile of ashes where Dr. Kinsey once was. The glow from Roman faded, and he swayed on his feet slightly, then fell to his knees with a groan. Virgil scrambled to his side.

“Why did you do that?! You’re going to kill yourself if you don’t give your magic time to recharge!” Virgil scolded while putting his hands on Roman’s shoulders to steady him.

“Kinda happened involuntarily, Virge. I just got so angry,” Roman explained breathlessly.

“Why? For heaven’s sake Roman, you’re a Silvestri. Your family has hated vampires for generations,” Virgil said in disbelief.

“Yeah. And I’m the one Silvestri in the history of ever to fall in love with one,” Roman said softly. Virgil’s eyes flew open in surprise.

“I- um- what?” Virgil stuttered.

“At first those pranks in college were because I truly hated you. But, I soon realized that the only reason I was doing them was so I could see you. I know this probably isn’t the right time to tell you, and you probably don’t feel the same way- mmph!” Roman rambled, but was cut off by Virgil tugging him into a fierce kiss. Roman seemed to freeze for a moment, then kissed Virgil back with equal fervor.

“Whoa… what exactly did I miss?” a voice came from behind them. Virgil and Roman broke apart, extremely flustered. Patton glanced over and saw that the selkie had returned, with the jar holding the fairy in hand. The fairy waved when she saw Patton, chittering excitedly.

“Well, Dr. Kinsey was gonna drive a wooden stake into Virgil’s heart, but then Roman got really mad and incinerated the doctor. Roman almost passed out, Virgil scolded him, and those two finally confessed their love to each other. Well, Roman did, at least. Virgil just kinda kissed him,” Patton explained with a grin.

“Mngh, Patton, dearest, do you have to be so loud?” a weak voice suddenly piped up. Patton gasped, and looked to see that Logan was awake, and smiling weakly in his arms. His wound was completely healed, and the tiny dragon held the bullet in her mouth, giving Patton a look that said: “Look at me! I helped!”

“Logan!” Patton cried out. Logan smiled, and reached up to brush Patton’s hair out of his eyes, then let his hand rest on Patton’s cheek. The dragon flew up and off of Logan’s chest, flying over to Roman, who was now standing with an arm around Virgil.

“Let’s go home, shall we?” Logan asked. Patton grinned and nodded.

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Patton replied. And with that, the werewolf, the man, the mage, the vampire, the shapeshifter, the human, the werecat, and the selkie walked out of D.O.M.E. headquarters.  


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They come home.

Roman smiled as he observed all the people sitting in his living room. The four teenagers, Joan, Talyn, Thomas, and Annika, were sat on the couch, with the moonlight fairy flitting around them. The little fairy was a bit shy at first, and was scared she would cause Patton or Talyn to change to their other forms, but they both assured her that it wouldn’t happen. After all, Patton had Logan, and Talyn had Joan. Logan and Patton were seated on the other couch, with Logan’s arm around Patton. Logan was looking completely fine now, if not a little pale, thanks to the help of the phoenix dragon. Speaking of which, the little dragon had seemed to take a liking to Virgil. She was currently nestled in his hair, much to his dismay.

“Roman, can you tell her to get off of me?!” Virgil hissed.

“Aw, c’mon Virge, I think she likes you!” Roman teased.

“What if she lights me on fire or something?!” Virgil protested.

“Virge, honey, you’re a vampire. It won’t exactly hurt you…” Roman pointed out.

“It’ll still be annoying, won’t it?” Virgil retorted. Roman rolled his eyes, and reached out a hand towards the little one. She seemed hesitant at first, but she soon decided to clamber into Roman’s hand, after giving a small farewell chirp to Virgil.

“What should I call you, I wonder?” Roman mused.

“Roman, you can't keep her,” Logan scolded.

“Why not?” Roman asked, pouting. The tiny dragon in his hand moved to face Logan, and she started to pout too, her bright golden eyes watering.

“We don't have the space! Surely you know that she won't be tiny forever,” Logan pointed out, trying to look away from the dragon’s melancholy gaze.

“She's a phoenix dragon, Logan! She grows to about the size of a cat, then she'll be set aflame and from the ashes, she'll emerge this size again!” Roman explained.

“But…” Logan protested.

“And besides, we have a link! It's like she can hear my thoughts,” Roman proclaimed. Logan sighed.

“Only you would end up with a dragon as your familiar. Fine, we can keep her,” Logan said, defeated. The tiny dragon gave a small chirp of joy, then flew out of Roman's palm and over to Logan. She landed on his shoulder, then reached up to lightly headbutt his cheek. Logan smiled, and gave the dragon a gentle pat on the head. She hummed in appreciation, then jumped off of Logan’s shoulder and back to Roman.

“Now, as I was saying, what should I name you, little one?” Roman asked once the dragon had landed safely back in his palm. He brought his free hand up to gently stroke the dragon, and she let out a sound akin to a purr. Her golden eyes met Roman's brown ones, and that's when it hit him. The perfect name.

“Hestia,” Roman murmured. She chirped in delight, then flapped her wings to hover out of Roman's hand and do a flip in midair. Hestia landed back in Roman's palm and nuzzled it affectionately.

“A surprisingly fitting name, Roman,” Logan commented dryly.

“What is that supposed to mean?!” Roman asked indignantly. Hestia made a chirring noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter. The other myticals and humans started to laugh too, and the living room felt warm and happy.

* * *

Later that night, after the teenagers had been taken home, and it was only Logan, Patton, Roman, Virgil, and Hestia in the house, Virgil sat on top of his bed in his room, feeling… strange. It almost seemed too easy, how Logan and Joan saved them, and how Dr. Kinsey had been taken down. It was almost if D.O.M.E. wanted them to escape. Virgil's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a knock at his door.

“Come in,” Virgil called out. Roman came in, with Hestia perched on his shoulder. Virgil smiled at first, but his smile melted away when he realized that Roman probably wanted to talk about what had happened earlier. Specifically, the kiss. And Virgil wasn't sure if he was ready for this conversation. Roman seemed to sense his discomfort, and sat down on the bed beside him, resting a hand on Virgil’s knee.

“How are you doing?” Roman asked softly. Virgil sighed.

“I'm not really sure how to answer that. I just feel kinda… weird. It was too easy, escaping the D.O.M.E. facility. What if they let us escape? What if they come for us again? What if-” Virgil paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and started to speak again.

“I couldn't save you, Roman. That doctor had you pinned to the ground, you were barely breathing, and I tried attacking them, and all that happened was that I ended up ingesting a bunch of garlic and getting kidnapped myself. I just- I can't-” Virgil’s voice broke off, and the tears he had been holding back came spilling freely down his cheeks. Hestia gave a small coo of concern, and flew over to Virgil’s shoulder, gently headbutting his cheek. Roman reached out and pulled Virgil into his arms, being mindful of the tiny dragon between them.

“It's alright, Virgil. It's not your fault,” Roman murmured, idly running his fingers through Virgil’s hair.

“I just don't want to lose you,” Virgil whispered. Roman pulled away slightly, and cupped Virgil’s face with his hands.

“You won't, I promise,” Roman murmured, then leaned in to give Virgil a quick kiss. He pulled away, and there was a beat of silence between the the two of them. Virgil suddenly surged forward, and captured Roman's lips in a fierce and desperate kiss. Hestia let out a surprise squawk at the sudden movement, then flew out from in between them and landed clumsily on Virgil’s bedside table. Hestia gave an annoyed chirp at them, but they were far too invested in each other to notice.

Roman let out a surprised yelp into the kiss when he felt Virgil’s fangs gently prick his lower lip. Virgil pulled away, concern and slight fear in his eyes. Roman chuckled and tried to lean in again, but was stopped by Virgil placing a hand on his chest.

“Shit, I'm sorry. I got a little excited. The last thing I want to do is hurt you,” Virgil apologized.

“Don't  apologize, love. I was just surprised, is all,” Roman murmured, leaning in to kiss Virgil again. Their lips merely brushed against each other before Virgil gently pushed him away again.

“Roman, maybe we should talk about… us,” Virgil said.

“Am… am I moving too fast? I'm sorry, I just… I guess I was so smitten with you that I didn't even think about how you felt,” Roman replied, looking sheepish.

“No, it's fine, I want this, I want to be with you, I just… god, why are feelings so weird…” Virgil trailed off.

“That’s okay, Virgil. Maybe it’d be better if we slowed down a bit,” Roman replied, giving Virgil a gentle kiss, then pulling away and starting to get off the bed and leave the room. However, he was stopped by Virgil reaching out and grabbing his arm.

“Wait. Please… stay?” Virgil asked, peering up at Roman shyly. Roman grinned, and sat back down on the bed.

“Of course, dearest,” Roman replied, taking Virgil into his arms again and planting a soft kiss to his forehead. Virgil relaxed into Roman’s embrace, and nuzzled into his chest slightly.

Suddenly, Hestia gave another annoyed squawk, as if she was trying to say: “Hey! Remember me! The cute dragon who almost got crushed when you two were making out!” Roman looked over at the indignant dragon sitting on Virgil’s bedside table, and let out a laugh.

“My apologies, Hestia. I kind of forgot you were there,” Roman chuckled. Hestia rolled her eyes, and Virgil realized he had found a kindred spirit in this dragon. Virgil reached out a hand towards the tiny reptile, and she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Come here, join the cuddle fest,” Virgil sighed. Hestia chirped in joy, then flew to Virgil and immediately nestled in his hair. Virgil huffed out a breath, and let his hand drop down to Roman’s chest.

“Well, that works too, I suppose. What is it with your dragon and my hair?” Virgil asked.

“It is quite soft,” Roman pointed out. Hestia squawked in agreement. Virgil rolled his eyes, but laughed anyhow.

“Fair point,” he sighed, then snuggled into Roman more. And soon, he was lulled to sleep by the comforting sound of Roman’s steady heartbeat.

* * *

Logan was sleeping soundly in his room, when he was suddenly woken by a scream. He shot up in bed immediately, and realized that the scream had come from Patton’s room. He haphazardly put on his glasses, then practically leapt off of the bed,and dashed down the hallway to Patton's room. He burst inside once he got there, and was relieved to see that Patton was alright. Well… mostly. Patton was sitting up in his bed, hands clutching at the sheets and tears streaming down his face. He didn't even seem aware that Logan had come into the room.

“Patton?” Logan asked quietly. Patton's head shot up, eyes wide and chest heaving with sobs.

“Lo- Logan?” he hiccuped. Logan, almost against his will, climbed onto the bed and pulled Patton into a hug. Patton tightly wrapped his arms around Logan's waist, and sobbed into his shoulder.

“Shhh, it's okay Patton. What happened?” Logan asked, one hand rubbing soothing circles into Patton's back, while the fingers of his other hand methodically carded through the sobbing man's hair.

“N-n-n-nightm-m-mare,” Patton stuttered. Logan pulled him closer to his chest, and glanced up and saw that Roman and Virgil had both ran in as well, with Hestia circling over their heads. The hand that was rubbing Patton’s back shooed them away. Patton was way too overwhelmed right now, and having the others there would only cause him more distress. Virgil nodded, and pulled a reluctant Roman out of Patton’s room, Hestia trailing behind them. Logan focused his attention back on Patton, whose crying had subsided slightly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Logan asked. Patton hesitated at first, but then nodded his head.

“We were back at the D.O.M.E. headquarters… and I was a werewolf… b-but you couldn’t ch-change me back-k a-a-and… and I killed you. I- I k-killed all of you. I couldn’t stop Logan, it felt so real,” Patton sobbed, clutching Logan so tight he felt as if he could barely breathe.

“It’s okay Patton, I’m here, I’m right here. Everyone is alright, you didn’t hurt anyone. You’re okay,” Logan soothed, leaning down to kiss Patton on the forehead. Patton continued to cry a little longer, but his tears soon subsided and his breathing normalized. He peered up at Logan sheepishly.

“Sorry to burden you with… all of that,” Patton apologized. Logan huffed out a soft laugh. He then reached out to brush an out-of-place strand of Patton’s hair away from his eyes.

“Nonsense, Patton. I love you, and because of that, I will always be here for you to rely on. It’s no burden,” Logan murmured. Patton beamed, his eyes still slightly watery.

“Can I kiss you?” Patton asked, voice a little raspy from all the crying he had been doing. Logan smiled, and nodded, leaning in to softly kiss Patton. Patton hummed contentedly, and his arms moved from circling Logan’s waist to draping loosely around his neck. Logan kept one arm around Patton’s waist, while his free hand rested on Patton’s cheek. Eventually, they broke apart, and Patton couldn’t recall the last time he felt this whole, or this happy. But as all good things are, it was not to last.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D.O.M.E. returns.

Logan woke up with arms around his waist, and someone nuzzling into his chest. That someone, being Patton. Logan smiled softly to himself. They must have fallen asleep after Patton’s nightmare. He idly ran his fingers through Patton’s hair, and couldn’t help but grin when Patton let out a soft sigh, eyelashes fluttering slightly.

“Hmm… Morning, Lo,” Patton murmured, peering up at Logan through his eyelashes.

“Good morning, Patton. Was your rest satisfactory?” Logan asked. Patton giggled, and gave Logan a quick peck on the lips.

“Didn’t we have a conversation like this yesterday morning?” Patton asked.

“Yes. But I like this morning’s version of it better,” Logan replied, and sweetly kissed Patton again.

“Oh? And why is that?” Patton murmured, with a slight smirk on his face. Logan chuckled slightly, and shook his head.

“I think it’s fairly obvious, Patton,” Logan said.

“I dunno, it’s kinda hard for me to tell,” Patton teased.

“Oh please, Patton. Yesterday morning, we weren’t together yet, and there was also the slight issue of the intruder lurking in our house,” Logan sighed.

“I know that, Lo! I was kidding!” Patton replied. Logan rolled his eyes.

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Logan sighed. Patton smiled, and pulled Logan into a kiss that was gentle, yet at the same time held a powerful passion. Logan hummed contentedly, and melted into the kiss.

They would have continued making out all morning, but a sudden knocking at the door interrupted them. They broke apart, and Logan sighed. Patton gave a disappointed groan, and tried to kiss Logan again, but Logan gently pushed him away.

“Patton, we have to get up at some point,” Logan said.

“Says who?” Patton protested, trying to lean in again.

“Says me. Roman is trying to make breakfast, and I’m seriously concerned that he will burn the house down,” came Virgil’s voice from the other side of the door. Patton sat up in bed with a gasp.

“Oh no he doesn’t! Last time he was in the kitchen-” Patton started, but was cut off by a crash and shouting from downstairs. He and Logan exchanged glances, and bolted out of Patton’s room and down the stairs, Virgil following after them. And when they reached the living room, they saw something they never expected.

Roman was standing in the living room, flames conjured in each hand. He was glaring at a woman who was standing a few feet away from Roman. Hestia was perched on his shoulder, and was hissing at the woman. The woman was meeting Roman’s glare with cold eyes that glittered with malice from behind her glasses.

“What the-” Logan started, but was cut off by someone suddenly grabbing him from behind, and putting a cloth over his nose and mouth. A strange sickly-sweet smell burned his nostrils, and he struggled against the person’s grip. When he felt his thoughts becoming hazy, and his movements becoming sluggish, Logan realized what the substance on the cloth was. Chloroform. And with that realization, Logan fell limp in his captor’s arms, and everything faded around him.

* * *

Roman vaguely heard scuffling behind him, but he was too focused on the woman in front of him to care. He wasn’t totally sure how the woman had gotten in, or what she was doing here, but the last time someone had broken into their home, Roman had gotten himself kidnapped, like some damsel in distress from a fairytale. And there was no way he was letting that happen again.

“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?” Roman growled.

“Mr. Silvestri, I’d watch your tone, if I were you,” the woman said sharply, gesturing at something behind Roman. Roman risked a glance over his shoulder, and the flames dancing along his fingertips nearly sputtered out in shock. A man had Logan draped over one shoulder, and he was stepping towards Patton menacingly. Another individual had an arm around Virgil’s middle in a vice-like grip, pinning his arms to the side. Their other hand, which wore a gauntlet, was tightening around Virgil’s throat. And due to Virgil’s body spasming, and the strangled yelps of pain escaping his lips, Roman realized that the gauntlet must have been made of silver. Hestia growled, and she flew off of Roman’s shoulder, and to Virgil’s attacker. She blew plumes of flame at them, and nipped at anything she could reach on the assailant. Roman felt a swell of pride towards his familiar, and turned back to the woman, whose lips were set in a firm grimace.

“Time to up the stakes,” the woman snarled, and she fished something out of her pocket. It appeared to be a small white orb, about the size of a golf ball. She squeezed it, and the orb began to glow.

Suddenly, Roman heard a cry of pain from behind him. He glanced over, and saw two things. One that filled his heart with joy and relief, while the other instantly swept those feelings away and fear replaced it. Virgil was now free, rubbing at his sore neck. His attacker was sprawled on the ground, Hestia hovering above them and hissing. But what made Roman’s heart clench in fear was Patton. He was kneeling on the ground, hands gripping at his hair, while his body shook. A scream slipped from his lips, and Roman watched in horror as Patton grew more wolfish by the second. Virgil snarled, and lunged at the woman. He successfully tackled her to the ground, and her head hit the floor with a loud thump. She was knocked out almost instantly. Virgil snatched the orb from her hands, trying to find a way to shut it off.

“It’s somehow radiating moonlight, I can’t shut it off. Roman I need you to- ROMAN!” Virgil cried out, eyes wide with fear and staring at something over Roman’s shoulder. Roman whirled around, and suddenly found himself pinned to the ground, with someone’s hand wrapped around his throat. He gagged, and the flames sputtered out in his hands as he tried to break free from the attacker. Roman desperately tried to conjure flames, or something to throw the man off of him, but his wrists were suddenly pinned above his head with the man’s free hand.

“Oh no ya don’t. You’re not usin’ your filthy mage tricks,” the man said gruffly, his hand squeezing tighter around Roman’s throat. Roman choked, squirming beneath the man as his vision began to darken around the edges.

Suddenly, just as Roman felt himself being pulled into the dark embrace of unconsciousness, the man above him cried out in surprise, and the pressure around Roman’s throat was gone, and his wrists were free. He gulped in air greedily, and sat up, hands massaging his bruised neck. He looked over and saw that Virgil had tackled the other man to the ground, fangs deep in his neck. Roman’s eyes widened. Virgil usually avoided drinking from people as much as possible, and he had never seen Virgil exhibit this kind of anger before. Roman suddenly heard a small chirp of concern. He looked to his other side, and saw that Hestia was flying beside him.

“I’m alright, Hestia. Now, let’s use those magic healing tears of yours to wake up Logan, before-” Roman said hoarsely, but was cut off by a howl. Roman’s blood ran cold when he saw that Patton was now in full wolf form. He snarled at Roman, and Roman scrambled to his feet.

“Hestia, go to Logan, now. I’ll distract Patton as long as I can,” Roman said. Hestia looked reluctant, but flew to Logan, who was sprawled on the floor a few feet away from them. Roman then focused his attention back on Patton, who was growling and displaying his canine teeth in a grimace. Roman formed a wisp of light magic in his hands, not wanting to hurt Patton, but not wanting to be defenseless either.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Patton,” Roman said, voice shaking slightly. Patton growled, and lunged at Roman, who easily sidestepped the attack. Patton stumbled slightly, but still managed to stay on his feet and snarl at Roman. He started to move towards Roman again, and Roman sent a weak blast of magic at Patton. The blast hit Patton square in the chest, and he was sent flying backwards. Roman felt guilt clench at his heart, and he glanced over to see that Virgil was kneeling beside Logan, and that Logan was starting to wake up. Roman sighed in relief.

Suddenly, Roman felt pain tear through his chest. A hoarse scream was ripped from his throat, and he stumbled backwards, the wisps of light in his hands dissapaiting. He looked up and saw Patton was on his feet again, claws outstretched and bloody. Horror dawned on Roman when he realized that the blood on Patton’s hands was his. He looked down at his chest to see deep gouges across it, blood gushing from them uncontrollably. He put a hand to his chest as his vision swam, and he vaguely heard someone scream his name. His knees buckled, and he fully expected to crumple to the floor, but someone caught him.

“Roman? Come on, Silvestri, don’t you die on me,” a shaky voice said above him. Roman blearily opened his eyes- when had he closed them?- and saw Virgil staring down at him with concern.

“S’okay, love, I’ll- nngh- b’ ok,” Roman gasped out. Virgil huffed out a nervous laugh.

“How can you say that? Roman, you’re bleeding out,” Virgil said incredulously, tears glistening in his eyes. Roman reached a hand up to brush away the tears that started to roll down Virgil’s cheeks. His hand lingered on Virgil’s cheek, and Roman gave a weak smile.

“I love you,” Roman breathed, and his vision caved into blackness.

* * *

Patton gasped, eyes snapping open. What just happened? The last thing he remembered was waking up next to Logan. What was he doing downstairs, in the living room? Logan was standing in front of him, hands gripping Patton’s forearms. His eyes were wide and full of fear, and Patton’s brow furrowed in concern.

“Lo? What happened? Why are we downstairs? Are you okay?” Patton asked, questions tumbling from his mouth. He looked up, and glanced around, and then he wished he hadn’t. Virgil was kneeling on the floor, cradling Roman’s body in his lap. Roman had deep, jagged scratches across his chest, and Hestia was crying her golden healing tears onto his wounds.

The memories suddenly came flying back to Patton. The beam of moonlight from the strange orb the woman held, the pain as his transformation came on so suddenly, and most heartbreaking of all, the fear in Roman’s eyes. He remembered the brief pain that surged through him when Roman shot a blast of magic at him. And worst of all, he remembered the pain he inflicted on Roman, all too well. He could still hear Roman’s scream as the claws- his claws- raked down and through his chest.

Patton’s knees felt weak, and nausea started to bubble in his stomach. His breathing was coming in short, ragged gasps, and he started to sway slightly. He was certain that if Logan wasn’t there, he would have collapsed. Patton felt his stomach lurch, and he put a hand to his mouth. Logan took in a sharp intake of breath, and began to quickly lead Patton to the bathroom. They barely made it there in time, and Patton fell to his knees beside the toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach into it. Logan kneeled beside him, rubbing his back and mumbling words of comfort.

“It’s okay, Patton, it wasn’t your fault. Roman will be okay, thank goodness for that little dragon. It wasn’t your fault,” Logan murmured, as Patton continued to heave into the toilet. Soon, his stomach had nothing left to give, and he slumped back against Logan. Logan gave him a paper towel to wipe his mouth with, and Patton accepted it gratefully. There was silence for a moment, before Patton spoke up.

“I- I could’ve… I almost-” Patton said brokenly, breaking down into sobs. Logan shifted so that Patton was facing him, and he cupped Patton’s face with his hands.

“Look at me, Patton. This was not your fault. D.O.M.E. is to blame here. You are not the monster. They are,” Logan stated, leaving no room for argument. He then leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Patton’s forehead. He pulled away and gave Patton a reassuring smile.

“Thank you, Logan,” Patton croaked.

“Of course, Patton. Let’s get you taken care of, okay?” Logan said, removing his hands from Patton’s face, and helping him up. Patton pulled Logan into a hug the minute they were both standing, and somehow, somehow he knew everything would be okay.     


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman wakes up, and finds that more time has passed than he thought.

Roman woke up groggily. He glanced around and saw that he was lying on his bed in his room. Roman tried to sit up, but a dull pain flashed through his chest, and his head flopped back onto the bed. It was then that he noticed that Virgil was sitting in a chair next to his bed, holding his hand with a death grip, leaning forward and lying his head on the bed. Hestia was nestled in his hair, and a smile curled Roman’s lips. He chuckled slightly, but it was broken off with a gasp of pain. He looked down at his chest, which was wrapped with bandages. Roman’s brow furrowed in confusion, and he brought his free hand up to brush against the bandages. What had happened? Suddenly, the memories came flooding back to Roman, and he gasped again.

“Patton!” he rasped, voice cracking from disuse. Hestia suddenly perked up from her place in Virgil’s hair at Roman’s sudden outburst. She gave a chirp of excitement, then flew over to Roman, nuzzling his cheek.

“Yes, hi Hestia. I’m okay. Where is everyone else? Are they okay? Hey- where do you think you’re going?” Roman asked, as his familiar suddenly flew out of the room. Roman sighed, and looked over at Virgil, who was still sleeping soundly. Roman still had a million questions running through his head, and part of him wanted to wake Virgil up, but the vampire frankly looked exhausted. Dark circles were under his eyes, and Roman could see faint bruises on his neck, from where the attacker had used the silver gauntlet on Virgil. Roman’s free hand clenched in anger.

Suddenly, Hestia burst back into the room, tugging someone along behind her by the sleeve. That someone was revealed to be Annika, the selkie that had been taken by D.O.M.E. along with Roman and the others. Her curly brown hair was a mess, and she was wearing glasses, a light purple sweatshirt, and gray sweatpants. It looked like she had just been woken up. What was she doing here?

“Geez, little dragon, what’s got you in such a- oh!” she started, but cut off her sentence with a surprised exclamation when she saw Roman.

“Uhh… hi? What are you doing here?” Roman asked, very confused.

“Well, I was sleeping, until a certain dragon of yours woke me up,” Annika said, reaching up to give Hestia a friendly pat on the head.

“No, I mean… what are you doing in our house?” Roman asked.

“Oh! Sorry, that’s right, you’ve been a little… out of it, for a bit. Joan, Talyn, Thomas and I came here a couple days ago, when D.O.M.E. attacked us again,” Annika replied, idly fiddling with a lock of her hair.

“A couple days ago?!” Roman shouted, bolting upright in bed, despite the dull throbbing pain in his chest. His sudden movement startled Virgil out of his sleep.

“Huh? What- ROMAN!” Virgil cried out standing up from his chair and pulling Roman into his arms. Roman let out a hiss and winced in pain when Virgil squeezed a bit too tightly. Virgil pulled away quickly, eyes filled with concern.

“Shit… sorry. How are you feeling?” Virgil asked.

“I’m fine, but… what happened? How long have I been… asleep?” Roman asked.

“Three days. You weren’t really coherent for a lot of it. Hestia managed to heal your wounds… at least mostly. Even though her tears are magic, there wasn’t a whole lot she could do. Your body has been under a lot of stress lately, and getting injured like that certainly didn’t help. You- uh- you had us all pretty worried,” Virgil explained.

“Is that why it still hurts so much?” Roman asked.

“Yeah, probably. It'll take a while for you to heal fully, or at least that's what Logan thinks,” Virgil replied.

“How are the others?” Roman asked quietly. Virgil didn’t reply for a moment, but merely looked up at Annika, who was still standing at the door awkwardly.

“Well, everyone is asleep right now. It is nearly 4 a.m.” Annika pointed out.

“Oh my, I’m terribly sorry to have woken you up. You can go back to sleep now,” Roman replied sheepishly. Annika shrugged.

“It’s no big deal. Glad to see you’re okay though,” Annika said, then walked out of Roman’s room. Hestia flew back over to Roman, landing on his bedside table and yawning. There was silence for a moment.

“You never did answer my question, Virgil,” Roman said softly. Virgil sighed.

“Logan seems okay, but he keeps throwing himself into his work. He won’t stop researching, trying to figure out a way to take D.O.M.E. down. I, for one, have been going stir-crazy just sitting here, wondering if you were ever going to wake up. And Patton-” his voice broke. Virgil took a deep breath, then spoke again.

“Patton won’t stop blaming himself. He barely comes out of his room anymore, afraid that he’ll hurt one of us. The only person he’s really talked to is Logan, and Logan’s told me that he keeps having nightmares,” Virgil finished.

“And the teenagers?” Roman asked. Virgil gave a small smile.

“They’re strong kids. They’re really the ones that are keeping us from falling apart. I don’t know how they do it,” Virgil said, slightly awestruck.

“Well, they’ve had a good teacher,” Roman murmured.

“Dork,” Virgil teased lightly. Roman then reached out to Virgil tiredly.

“C’mere,” he said.

“You know, we should probably wake up the others. Tell them you’re awake,” Virgil said.

“It’s late, and they need sleep. Now come here and kiss me already,” Roman replied, whining slightly. Virgil rolled his eyes.

“Fine. But then I’m gonna go wake up the others. Logan and Patton will want to know you’re awake, no matter what time of day it is,” Virgil said. He then carefully climbed into Roman’s lap wrapping his arms around his neck. Roman circled his arms around Virgil’s waist, and pulled him in for a kiss. The kiss started as sweet and gentle, but soon shifted to be passionate and desperate. Virgil’s hands kept moving, from the back of his neck, to tangling in his hair, to his face, then back to his neck again. It wasn’t until Virgil pulled away for a quick second to breathe that Roman noticed that there were tears glistening in his lover’s eyes.

“Virgil, wai-mph” Roman tried, but Virgil kissed him again. Roman placed a hand on Virgil’s chest and gently pushed him away. Virgil looked confused and distraught, tears spilling from his eyes.

“Virge, what’s wrong? You’re crying,” Roman asked softly. Virgil’s hands immediately flew up to wipe away his tears. But more tears just continued to flow, and Virgil slumped against Roman, defeated.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that… you’d think that after living for 228 years, I’d be used to heartbreak. I know it’s stupid but you promised that I wouldn’t lose you, and I couldn’t save you again, and- and god I thought you weren’t going to wake up,” Virgil sobbed quietly, leaning his forehead against Roman’s. Roman reached his hands up to gently cup Virgil’s face, brushing away the tears with his thumb.

“It’s alright, Virgil. I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. But see? I’m okay now. We’re going to be okay,” Roman reassured him. He then gently captured Virgil’s lips with his own once more. When Roman pulled away, Virgil was smiling sheepishly.

“Sorry about that. I’ve just been so…” Virgil paused, hands gesturing uselessly.

“Stressed?” Roman finished quietly. Virgil nodded.

“Yeah. Guess I just finally broke under the pressure. Now, I’m gonna go get Logan and Patton. They should know you’re awake,” Virgil said, reluctantly climbing out of Roman’s lap. Roman watched him begin to leave, when a sudden question came to mind.

“Virgil… the people that attacked us… what happened to them?” Roman asked. Virgil froze, swallowing nervously.

“I- I killed them. I was overcome by rage, and I killed them,” Virgil confessed, refusing to look Roman in the eyes. Before Roman could even reply, he hurriedly left the room. And Roman just watched him leave, mouth open in shock.

* * *

Logan laid in his bed, wide awake despite it being very late. Patton was curled into his chest, sleeping peacefully for the first time in a while. Nightmares had been plaguing Patton for the past few days, and Logan was relieved to see him getting some legitimate sleep. Logan supposed that he should be getting some sleep as well, but he just couldn’t seem to fall asleep.

Suddenly, his bedroom door opened. Logan’s heart beat out of his chest, panic seizing him as he cradled Patton to his chest protectively. But then Virgil’s head poked in, and Logan sighed in relief, loosening his hold on Patton.

“Sorry to spook you Logan, but Roman’s awake,” Virgil said. Logan sat bolt upright, startling Patton awake.

“H-huh? Lo- what’s-” Patton rambled, eyes wide and terrified. Patton then sat up and saw that Virgil was standing in the room. He cocked his head to the side, confused.

“Sorry to wake you like that, but Virgil just told me some wonderful news. Roman is awake,” Logan said. Patton scrambled out of the bed, and started to go towards the door, but he stopped. Logan got up as well, and placed a reassuring hand on Patton’s shoulder.

“Patton, I told you, it’s not your fault. Roman’s awake now, and he should make a full recovery,” Logan said.

“I know, Logan. But what if he doesn’t want to see me? I hurt him, and-” Patton’s sentence breaks off.

“Patton, Roman wants to see you, trust me,” Virgil reassured him. Patton swallowed nervously, but nodded and followed Virgil out of Logan’s room and down the hall to Roman’s room. Logan trailed behind them, eager to see Roman. The three of them walked into his room, and saw Roman sitting up in bed, leaning back against the headboard, with Hestia cradled in his arms.

“R-Roman?” Patton asked shakily. Roman's head perked up, and he gasped and gave a small smile to Patton.

“Patton! Are you alright?” Roman asked. Patton let out a nervous laugh.

“Am I alright? Roman, you're the one that I almost- I- I should be asking you if you're okay,” Patton rambled, tears brimming in his eyes.

“Oh Patton… come here, it's okay, it's not your fault,” Roman said, carefully depositing Hestia onto his bedside table, and reaching out his arms to Patton. Patton rushed over, and pulled Roman into a hug, tears streaming freely down his face.

“Shh, it's okay, I'm okay, you weren't in control of your actions. I know you would never intentionally hurt me,” Roman soothed, hugging Patton close to his chest.

“B-but I… but I did hurt you. T-t-hat’s the problem,” Patton sniffled.

“It wasn’t your fault, okay Patton?” Roman asked, pulling away to look him in the eyes. Patton swallowed nervously, tears still spilling from his eyes.

“But-” Patton protested.

“But nothing. You weren’t in control. The ones at blame here are D.O.M.E. Not you,” Roman said firmly. Patton glanced away, eyes downcast, but nodded reluctantly, hands scrubbing at his eyes.

“Y-you’re right. I’m sorry, I just was so worried,” Patton said, pulling away from Roman and hugging himself slightly. Logan walked up to Patton, standing beside him and putting an arm around his shoulders. Patton leaned into Logan’s touch, a small smile gracing his lips.

“It is very reassuring to see you awake, Roman. However, it is quite late, and I don’t believe any of us have gotten any proper sleep for a few days now,” Logan said.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Virgil scoffed, walking over to sit on the edge of Roman’s bed.

“Sorry to have woken you,” Roman said sheepishly.

“Don’t be. It was worth being woken up, to know that you were alright,” Logan replied. Logan looked over at Patton, and turned around, his arm moving from Patton’s shoulders to instead reach down and link fingers with Patton’s. Patton gave one last sad smile to Virgil and Roman, and let himself be led out of Roman’s room. But before the two of them could exit the room, Roman spoke up again.

“Logan… what happens now?” Roman asked. Logan’s expression darkened.

“We find a way to eradicate D.O.M.E. For good,” Logan answered, and with that, he left the room, along with Patton.   


	10. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil has a nightmare from his past, and Patton bonds with the teenagers.

_Virgil walked down the cobbled streets of Boston. It was 1817. The supposed “Era of Good Feelings”. But Virgil felt nothing but apprehension. Sure, the War of 1812 was over. Virgil didn’t have to fight anymore. America had won. There was peace. But why did Virgil still feel anxious? Perhaps he was still used to the constant paranoia he felt as a soldier._

_As he walked down the dark streets, Virgil couldn’t help but feel that someone was watching him. He brushed the feeling aside, assuming that he was just being ridiculous. It was late at night, no one else should be out. And besides, why would anyone be watching him?_

_Suddenly, a figure lunged out from the shadows, and grabbed Virgil by his coat collar. Virgil let out a strangled yelp of surprise, and in the blink of an eye, found himself slammed against the brick wall in an alleyway._

_“What the hell?!” Virgil cried, and the figure clamped his hand over Virgil’s mouth. The other hand grabbed Virgil’s wrist, pinning it above his head and clenching it so tightly, Virgil swore he could feel his bones beginning to creak under the pressure. The hand that was on his face tilted his head so that his throat was exposed. The figure leaned in, cold puffs of breath hitting Virgil’s neck._

_“Hmm… a soldier… you will do nicely,” he murmured. Suddenly, Virgil felt something prick and sink into his neck, and with dawning horror Virgil realized that the mysterious attacker was biting him._

_Virgil felt an odd draining sensation, and he felt himself becoming weaker and weaker. The man’s grip on his wrist was the only thing keeping him from falling to the ground. He then felt a sudden, sharp, burning sensation that caused his whole body to jolt, and he let out a muffled scream._

_The figure pulled away from Virgil, and let go of his wrist and removed his hand from his mouth. He was grinning, and Virgil felt his stomach lurch at the sight of blood- his blood- dripping from the man’s fangs. Virgil sagged against the wall, one hand flying to his neck. Before Virgil could question what had just happened, his vision blurred, and he sank into darkness._

 

Virgil shot up in bed, gasping for air. He glanced around and saw Roman sleeping beside him. Hestia was curled up on his chest, and was snoring softly. Virgil breathed out a sigh of relief. His sudden wake up from his nightmare- no, his memory- didn’t disturb Roman’s sleep. Virgil ran a hand through his hair, while the other instinctively went to his neck, brushing against the scar from the bite he had received about 200 years ago. Why were these memories haunting him now?

“Hnng, Virge? Why’re you awake?” Roman asked, words slurring slightly due to his half-asleep state.

“Go back to sleep, Roman. I’m fine,” Virgil said, laying back down and snuggling into Roman slightly.

“Love, what’s wrong?” Roman asked, turning his head to look Virgil in the eyes. Virgil’s silvery-gray eyes tried to look away from Roman’s warm brown ones, but found that he couldn’t.

“It’s nothing. Just… old memories,” Virgil sighed, leaning his forehead against Roman’s. Roman laughed lightly.

“How old we talking, Virge?” Roman asked.

“Ah… 200 years, give or take,” Virgil replied. Roman’s eyes widened.

“Oh. Do you wanna talk about it?” Roman asked. Virgil sighed.

“It’s not really something I wanna talk about when we’re half awake,” Virgil murmured.

“If you say so. But don’t think that I’m just going to forget about this. I’m always here to listen, if and when you want to talk about it,” Roman said seriously, hand gently caressing Virgil’s cheek. Virgil leaned into the touch, a low sound of contentment rising from the back of his throat.

“Thanks, Roman,” Virgil replied, then leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Roman’s lips. He then pulled away and nuzzled into Roman, who wrapped his arm around Virgil in return. And Virgil drifted off, falling into a blissful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Logan sluggishly woke up, and he noticed that something felt… off. He then realized it was because there was an empty space next to him in the bed. A flash of panic surged through him, but he set it aside, assuring himself that Patton had most likely gotten up to use the bathroom, or he couldn’t sleep and he didn’t want to interrupt Logan’s sleep.

Logan sighed and got up out of his bed, stretching slightly before going out of his room and walking down the hall. Before going down to the kitchen, he stopped by Roman’s room, and saw that Roman was asleep, with Virgil snuggled into him, and Hestia curled up in Virgil’s hair. A small smile came to Logan’s lips at the sight, and he left Roman’s room, quietly closing the door behind him. He then made his way down the stairs, and his smile only grew as he took in the sight of the living room. Annika, the selkie, was sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep, with the moonlight fairy curled up next to her head. Thomas, Joan, and Talyn had all managed to fall asleep all together in a tangled mess of limbs on the other couch.

He then made his way over to the kitchen, surprised to see Patton there, wearing his blue “Ekeisdale Veterinary Clinic” polo and khakis. Logan also noticed that little pawprints were patterned on Patton’s socks. Patton gave Logan a smile when he walked in, but the smile didn’t quite reach his soft green eyes.

“Good morning, Logan!” Patton said, busying himself with opening the fridge and getting out a carton of eggs.

“Good morning. Were you planning on returning to the clinic today? I see you have your polo on,” Logan asked.

“Well, I have missed four days of work. We have to pay the bills somehow, don’t we? I mean, you and Virgil haven’t been back to teach at school, so I figured I should probably get back in the swing of things. Besides, I’d like to try and get back to our normal lives anyway,” Patton said, setting down the carton of eggs on the counter. Logan frowned slightly.

“Patton, Virgil and I explained to Ms. Torres that we had some issues we needed to work through, and she granted us a few days to get back on our feet. I’m sure that if you spoke with your employer, they would let you take a few days off of work. And another important point to note is that D.O.M.E. is still out there. They could come for you again,” Logan said, reaching out and taking Patton’s hands in his.

“Logan, they know where we live! How would I be any safer here than I would be at the clinic?” Patton exclaimed, hands clenching tightly around Logan’s.

“Patton, it would be a lot easier for D.O.M.E. to attack you again if you were on your own, rather than here with all of us,” Logan explained.

“I can't just sit around and do nothing, Logan. I don't want to live my life in fear,” Patton replied, hands trembling. Logan let go of one of Patton's hands, and gently caressed Patton's cheek.

“You won't. Not for much longer. We're going to take down D.O.M.E, I swear that to you, Patton,” Logan said fiercely, determination blazing in his blue eyes.

“How can you be so sure? What if your plan doesn't work? What if you- what if you- Logan, I can't lose you,” Patton said, trembling. Logan pulled Patton into his arms, soothingly running a hand through his hair.

“You won't lose me, Patton. You won't lose any of us,” Logan murmured, pressing a kiss to Patton's head. Patton pulled back, tears glistening in his eyes.

“How did everything get so scary so fast, Logan? Four days ago we were just a group of misfits, minding our own business. Now we're basically being hunted,” Patton said in a hoarse whisper.

“I don't know,” Logan murmured, voice cracking slightly. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Patton's cheek. When he pulled away, their eyes met for a split second, before Patton grabbed Logan's face and pulled him into a kiss that was heated and desperate. All the pent up emotion from the two of them was poured into the kiss, and Logan, almost unwittingly, started to push the two of them forward, until Patton's back hit the counter edge. The counter dug into his back slightly, but Patton was too distracted by Logan's lips practically devouring his own to care.

The two of them suddenly heard footsteps approaching, and they broke apart, panting heavily and their faces flushed. Talyn, the werecat, walked in, and gave a small yelp of surprise when they saw Patton and Logan. They immediately covered their eyes with their hands.

“Okay, it is one thing to see your Chemistry teacher in pajamas, but it is another thing to see him making out with his boyfriend,” Talyn said. If possible, Logan's face grew a deeper shade of red, and he let go of Patton.

“My apologies, Talyn. I may have forgotten that we had guests over,” Logan said sheepishly. They cautiously peered out from behind their fingers, and then put their hands down with a sigh.

“Nah, it's okay. We are the ones in your house,” Talyn shrugged.

“Well, since it seems that people are waking up now, I should get started on breakfast,” Patton said, turning to grab a pan from the cupboard.

“I'll go upstairs, and check on the others,” Logan offered, starting to leave the kitchen.

“Sounds good, Lo. Hey Talyn, do you want to help me make breakfast?” Patton asked.

“Uh… sure, why not? I'm not that good at cooking, but it's better than sitting around and doing nothing,” Talyn replied, stepping aside as Logan brushed by them and walked out of the kitchen.

“Aw, well it’s nothing too complicated, kiddo! Come here, you can help me crack the eggs into the pan!” Patton said, gesturing them over. Talyn sheepishly stepped closer, and Patton held out the carton of eggs to them.

“Now we’ve got… uhh… how many people are at our house right now?” Patton trailed off, mentally taking a headcount.

“Well, if we count Hestia and Haven, there’s 10 of us total,” Talyn said. A confused expression came over Patton’s face.

“Who’s Haven?” Patton asked.

“Oh! That’s the moonlight fairy’s name. Or at least, that’s the closest translation from fae-speak. According to Joan, at least,” Talyn replied with a shrug. They stifled a giggle at Patton’s expression, which was a mix of awe and even more confusion.

“Yeah, Joan kinda has a knack for mythical languages. They’re not fluent in fae-speak quite yet, but they’ve gotten pretty good at mer-speak and it’s various dialects, as well as elvish, dwarvish, and even some ancient mage symbol writing,” Talyn explained.

“Wow, that’s amazing! Logan and Virgil had always said they were a pretty bright kid, but that really is something!” Patton exclaimed, starting to crack the eggs and put them into the pan, being careful to not get any shell in it.

“Yeah, but please don’t gush about it to them. I’ll never hear the end of it,” Talyn sighed. Patton let out a laugh, the first true laugh he’d had in a while. Talyn found a smile quirk up on their lips, and started to help Patton. The two of them worked together surprisingly well, and soon enough, they had enough breakfast food prepared for a small army.

“Uh, Mr. Bellamy? Don’t you think this is a bit… overkill?” Talyn asked, looking at the several plates of food that were now placed at the kitchen table.

“Talyn, you can just call me Patton! And besides, look at it this way: we’ll have plenty of leftovers for tomorrow’s breakfast!” Patton replied. Talyn gave a small laugh at that. Just then, Joan, Thomas, Annika, and the moonlight fairy, Haven, came in.

“Good morning, kiddos! I hope you’re hungry!” Patton said cheerfully. Haven let out a series of chitters that sounded like ringing bells.

“Uh, I think she said ‘Please tell the…’ well, there’s not really a word for this in English, but it means something like ‘kind-hearted one’ or ‘one with good soul’. Anyway, she wants me to tell you that she says thank you. That or she’s saying that your face is strange,” Joan said. Haven gasped, and her bell-like voice became clamorous. Joan held up their hands in a placating gesture, trying to calm the fairy.

“Okay, okay! It definitely was the first translation. Sorry, ‘thank you’ and ‘strange face’ sound very similar in fae-speak!” Joan protested. Haven rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

“Well, you’re welcome, Haven! Now come on, let’s eat, before it gets cold,” Patton said, gesturing for everyone to take a seat. They all sat down, and began to eat, idly chatting. And Patton, slowly but surely, started to feel whole again.   


	11. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman is feeling much better, and Logan has a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, there's an askblog on tumblr for this story now! Check out @amanamageandtwomisfits-asks if you're interested!

The house was calm, the only sounds being soft voices and someone bustling around in the kitchen that Roman could hear coming from downstairs. Roman opened his eyes, and yawned slightly. He looked over and saw that Virgil was clinging to him, peacefully asleep. Hestia had chosen to nestle in his hair, and she was snoring contentedly. He smiled at the sight, but as his thoughts drifted back to what happened late last night, the smile melted into a frown. What was causing Virgil to have dreams- well, if Roman was honest, it was probably more of a nightmare- about his past? Virgil didn’t ever talk about his past, all Roman and the others knew was that he was 228 years old, and that something had happened when he first got turned, because he always became irritable when the subject came up.

Roman took a deep breath, pleasantly surprised when he didn’t feel a dull pain in his chest. Hestia’s tears had really done wonders. Virgil stirred slightly at the movement of his chest, and his striking gray eyes opened. He blinked, and shifted his head to look at Roman.

“Mngh, Roman? What- your dragon is in my hair again,” Virgil groaned, rubbing at his eyes. Roman let out a small chuckle.

“Oh hush, Virgil. Did you know that it’s a good sign when a mage’s familiar takes a liking to their significant other?” Roman asked. Virgil’s eyes flew wide, and a blush spread across his face as he tensed up. Roman froze. What did he do wrong? Had he managed to mess things up between him and Virgil already? Just as Roman opened his mouth to say something, Virgil spoke up.

“I- I get to be your- I'm your-” Virgil stuttered, trailing off.

“Boyfriend?” Roman finished softly. Virgil nodded sheepishly. Roman smiled.

“Of course you're my boyfriend, Virgil. But only if you want to,” Roman assured him. Virgil gave a small grin, and before Roman could really process it, lips were suddenly on his. Hestia awoke with a squawk at Virgil’s sudden movement, and flew up off his head. The kiss was soft and sweet, and Roman’s hands came up to cup Virgil’s face, as Virgil’s fingers threaded through his hair.

As the two continued to kiss, Hestia hovered above them, and let out a sound similar to a sigh. She then decided that the two of them probably wanted some privacy, and flew out of Roman’s bedroom, slipping underneath the door and out into the hallway. However, Hestia wasn’t fully paying attention to where she was going, and ended up flying right into Logan’s face. She hit his glasses, bouncing off of them and falling rapidly. Luckily, Logan caught her just in time.

“My apologies, Hestia. Are you alright?” Logan asked, looking down at the small phoenix dragon in the palm of his hand.  Hestia shook herself off, carefully extending each wing to make sure it wasn’t damaged. She then gave an affirmative chirp and nodded her head.

“Good. By the way, I don't believe I ever properly thanked you for saving my life. I'm not certain I would have survived that gunshot without you,” Logan said softly, tentatively stroking Hestia’s head. Hestia purred, and leaned into the touch. A small smile came to Logan's face, but then Hestia’s head suddenly snapped up, her gaze zeroing in on Roman's door. Logan's gentle smile shifted into a frown at her sudden behavioral change.

“What's the matter?” Logan asked, and suddenly Hestia flew up and out of the palm of his hand, making a beeline for Roman's door. It then occurred to Logan that as his familiar, Roman and Hestia were connected. Roman must be in trouble, if Hestia was acting this way! Logan hurried after Hestia, and threw open the door. But what Logan saw both shocked him and inexplicably made him want to laugh. Roman was flat on his back on the floor, with Virgil on top of him. The bedsheets were tangled around them, and both of their faces were extremely flushed. Virgil’s fingers were tangled in Roman's hair, and Roman's arms were around Virgil’s waist. It was suddenly very clear what Logan and Hestia had walked in on.

“So… I'm guessing you heard us fall off of the bed?” Roman asked sheepishly.

“No. I was coming up to tell you that Patton had made breakfast for everyone. Then I ran into Hestia in the hall. I said hello to her, but then she suddenly seemed panicked and flew to your door. Since you and Hestia are linked, I assumed something was wrong,” Logan explained. Roman’s blush grew deeper, if possible.

“Sorry to case false alarm. It did hurt a bit to fall on the floor like this, but I was a little… erm… preoccupied,” Roman apologized sheepishly. Virgil quickly scrambled off of Roman, and helped him to his feet.

“Are you okay? How’s your chest feeling?” Virgil asked, a mix of embarrassment and concern in his voice. Roman smiled at his boyfriend’s concern, and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. Logan rolled his eyes and exchanged exasperated glances with Hestia.

“I believe I am nearly back to my wondrous, magical self! Now Logan, you said something about breakfast?” Roman said, turning his attention to the teacher standing in his doorway.

“Yes. I would advise putting on a legitimate shirt, however,” Logan said, gesturing at the bandages on Roman’s chest. Roman looked down, and let out a sheepish laugh.

“That would be good, wouldn’t it?” Roman said, going over to his closet and opening it. He then pulled out a black t-shirt, and tugged it over his head, being careful, so he wouldn’t aggravate his injuries.

“You sure you’re good to be walking around and stuff?” Virgil asked.

“Of course! And if not, it has been some time since I’ve teleported,” Roman said, linking arms with Virgil and smirking. Virgil grew wide-eyed at the thought of Roman teleporting the both of them somewhere, and suddenly, there was a puff of smoke, and Virgil was gone. In his place, was a bat, hovering in the air. Logan blinked in shock, Roman’s mouth fell open, and Hestia gave an excited chirp and flew over to the now bat-Virgil. Virgil squeaked in surprise, and latched onto Roman’s shoulder, a bit startled by Hestia’s sudden movement.

“Love, if your point was to get away from me, clinging to my shoulder like that certainly isn’t the way to do it,” Roman teased. Virgil glared at Roman, which was undeniably adorable in his bat form. He then flew off of Roman, and went to perch on Logan’s shoulder instead. Roman let out a dramatic gasp.

“I’ve been betrayed! How shall I go on?!” he declared, throwing an arm over his face. Hestia sighed, and flew over to nuzzle into the crook of Roman’s neck. She glanced over at Logan and Virgil, as if to say: “Do something, one tiny dragon cannot handle this much drama.” Virgil rolled his eyes, and flew off of Logan’s shoulder. There was another puff of smoke, and Virgil stood before them, human once more.

“Stop being dramatic, Silvestri. I’m right here,” Virgil sighed. Roman peeked out from beneath his arm, and his face broke into a dazzling grin.

“My dearest Virgil has returned!” he cried valiantly, and proceeded to sweep Virgil up into his arms. Virgil let out a cry of surprise, then glared at Roman, baring his fangs.

“Roman. Put. Me. Down,” he said between clenched teeth. Logan chuckled and shook his head.

“Well, clearly you are feeling better, Roman. I assume I will see you downstairs momentarily,” Logan said, walking out of Roman’s room, and down the hallway. Virgil groaned, and continued to glare at Roman. Roman had a smug grin upon his face, and Virgil could have sworn that Hestia was giggling.

“Put me down so we can get breakfast,” Virgil demanded.

“I could always carry you down the stairs,” Roman replied. Virgil’s brow furrowed in annoyance.

“My students are down there, mind you. I will not have you humiliating me in front of them,” Virgil shot back. Roman sighed, and reluctantly set Virgil down. Virgil dusted himself off, then started to walk out of Roman’s room. Roman followed after him, Hestia still perched on his shoulder. He reached out and linked his fingers with Virgil’s, who blushed deeply but didn’t make any moves to stop holding his hand.

The two of them soon arrived downstairs, and Virgil felt a small smile tug at the corners of his lips in spite of himself. Patton, Logan, Thomas, Joan, Talyn, and Annika were all seated at the table. Patton sat at the head of the table, with Logan to his right, and Talyn to his left. Joan was next to Talyn, Thomas was next to Joan, and Annika was next to Thomas. The moonlight fairy was there as well, and she had taken to sitting on the table, between Thomas and Annika. Quite the breakfast feast had been set out, and Virgil was sure they’d have leftovers for days. Virgil then sat down next to Logan, and Roman sat down beside Virgil. Everyone seemed pretty excited to see Roman up and walking around.

“Roman! You’re looking so much better! How are you feeling?” Patton asked cheerfully, but the look in his eyes didn’t quite match his tone of voice. He still very clearly felt guilty about the whole situation.

“I am feeling quite dazzling, Patton!” Roman declared, summoning a shower of glitter to emphasize his point. Everyone at the table got a fair sprinkling of glitter, much to their surprise and annoyance.

“Roman!” both Virgil and Logan scolded.

“What? If you’re worried about the mess, I can just snap my fingers, and it’s gone!” Roman replied, snapping his fingers. And as he said, all of the glitter disappeared.

“What I’M concerned about is the fact that you aren’t giving your magic a chance to recharge,” Virgil scolded. Roman rolled his eyes.

“Please, dearest. I’m fine!” Roman said. Virgil let out an annoyed sigh, but didn’t say anything more. There was silence for a moment, everyone eating their breakfast.

“So… not that I’m not loving seeing a whole different side of two of my teachers, I do have one question. When do we get to go home?” Thomas asked timidly. Patton, Logan, Roman, and Virgil all exchanged nervous glances.

“We know your parents must be worried, but the problem is that it’s not safe for you out there right now. We need to find a way to shut down D.O.M.E. before you all can go home,” Logan explained.

“Do any of their parents know what’s going on?” Roman asked suddenly.

“We’ve told them a half truth. Well, not even a half truth. They think that they are on a field trip with Virgil and I, and that it had to be extended for unforeseen reasons,” Logan explained. Roman nodded in understanding, and silence fell upon the table once more.

“So does anyone have any brilliant ideas as to how two humans and a bunch of mythical misfits are going to take down D.O.M.E?” Talyn asked, head resting upon their arms on the table.

“I have had a few ideas, but all of them too risky,” Logan answered.

“Something is better than nothing. What’s your best idea?” Virgil asked.

“Best as in least risky, or best as in most likely to succeed?” Logan asked, adjusting his glasses.

“Let’s hear most likely to succeed. D.O.M.E. needs to be stopped,” Virgil replied firmly. Logan shifted in his seat, unable to look Virgil in the eyes.

“The only problem is… this idea has the most risks. And it involves getting the kids involved,” Logan said with uncertainty.

“Like you could stop us from helping if you tried. These people hurt us, you think we’re just going to sit back and watch?” Annika piped up, her blue eyes fierce and determined. Thomas, Joan, and Talyn nodded in agreement. Logan let out a sigh.

“I suppose not. But there is one thing I want you to understand before I begin to explain. This will be dangerous, and we will not always be able to protect you. If you want to back out after I explain this plan, we will understand. I am not expecting you to help us, nor will I be angry if you don’t. All I wish is for you to be safe,” Logan explained calmly. The teenagers exchanged glances, and nodded firmly.

“We understand,” Joan said.

“Very well,” Logan replied. And with that, he began to explain his plan for taking down D.O.M.E.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan's plan is revealed, and the others begin to prepare for the oncoming troubles.

“My plan, to put it simply, is to infiltrate D.O.M.E, free any mythicals they may be harboring, and destroy all of their research,” Logan explained, “We have three people here with the ability to shapeshift, or change their appearance using magic, and there were three people who came after us on Saturday.”

“Wait, three shapeshifters? There’s Roman and Thomas, but who’s the third person?” Patton asked.

“I am. Selkies can shapeshift,” Annika piped up. Logan nodded and gave a thin smile.

“Precisely. You three will disguise as the people who attacked us, and pretend to bring the rest of us in. I’m fairly certain D.O.M.E. isn’t aware that Virgil… erm… took care of those three operatives, otherwise they surely would have sent more here to capture us,” Logan continued.

“But won’t they be expecting all of you? To be taken in, I mean. With Thomas, Annika, and Roman posing as the D.O.M.E. operatives, it’ll just be me, Joan, Patton, Logan, and Virgil being brought in,” Talyn pointed out. Joan nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, and different D.O.M.E. operatives came after us, won’t they be expecting the people we escaped from to bring us in?” Joan added. Logan chuckled lightly.

“You didn’t let me finish. Roman, Thomas, and Annika will only be bringing Virgil, Patton, and I to D.O.M.E. headquarters. You and Talyn will be waiting outside D.O.M.E. headquarters with Hestia and Haven, in case things go wrong and we need help. As for Talyn’s question, I have come up with a plausible cover story,” Logan said. Joan and Talyn nodded in understanding. Logan opened his mouth to say something again, but Roman interjected before he could say anything.

“I am slightly uncomfortable by the thought of not having my familiar at my side, but if you think that’s the best course of action, then so be it. May we hear this ‘cover story?’ I am merely curious,” he asked. Logan shifted in his seat, eyes suddenly glued to the table. He flicked up a glance at Patton for a moment, but then quickly looked away.

“Logan?” Patton asked, voice soft and full of concern. He reached out and took Logan’s hand, gently squeezing it.

“I fear this cover story may be triggering towards you, Patton,” Logan said with a trembling voice. The four teenagers at the table exchanged glances, once again bewildered by seeing their science teacher in such a different light.

“The cover story is that I killed Roman, isn’t it?” Patton asked softly. Logan nodded, refusing to meet Patton’s eyes.

“As heartbreaking as that is, it really is quite brilliant, Logan. Considering it’s awfully close to what almost happened,” Patton praised, albeit a bit sadly.

“Yes, and it would make sense for Hestia to not be there. Once a familiar’s mage dies, they become very depressed. In some occasions, they have been known to die of heartbreak,” Roman said, giving Hestia a comforting stroke when she let out a distressed coo.

“Okay, so we figured out how we’re going to infiltrate D.O.M.E. What do we do from there?” Thomas asked.

“Simple. Once we get past the D.O.M.E. guards, we break out all mythicals being held there. Then we burn that building down to the ground with Roman’s magic,” Logan said, and everyone looked taken aback at the righteous anger in Logan’s voice, as well as the determination blazing in his blue eyes.

“Sounds like a plan. When do we do this?” Virgil asked.

“If everyone’s ready, I was thinking tonight,” Logan said. Everyone at the table exchanged glances, some scared, some determined.

“Let’s do this. I’m tired of hiding,” Annika said. The others gave out murmurs of agreement.

“Yeah- yeah it’s time we do something about this,” Thomas said, voice shaking a little.

“Then it’s settled. We leave for D.O.M.E, tonight,” Logan said.

* * *

The breakfast continued with casual conversation, and soon everyone got up from the table to begin readying for their plan that night. Roman, Thomas, and Annika went to Roman’s room to practice shapeshifting into the D.O.M.E. operatives, with Virgil helping them to make sure their portrayals were as accurate as possible. Joan, Talyn, Haven, and Hestia were talking things over in the living room, figuring out what they would do if the others ended up needing their help.

Which left Logan and Patton to clean up after breakfast. Not that Patton minded. He was grateful to have some alone time with his boyfriend. Logan began to pack up the leftovers, while Patton started washing the dishes. Patton hummed under his breath, both excitement and nervousness buzzing beneath his skin. They were finally going to be free of the threat of D.O.M.E.

A set of arms encircled Patton’s waist, and he jumped in surprise, dropping the dish he was washing. One of the arms holding Patton let go of him, and caught the plate before it could land and possibly break.

“My apologies, Patton. I merely finished putting away the leftovers, and wanted to offer some physical comfort. I know this morning’s topic at breakfast may have been distressing to you,” Logan said, handing Patton the plate, then putting his arm back around Patton’s waist.

“Oh, thank you, Logan. That’s really sweet of you to do that, but I’m fine! I don’t need-” Patton’s sentence broke off with a soft sigh when Logan began to press gentle kisses to his neck. He kissed his way up Patton’s neck, eventually reaching his cheek. Patton let out a small giggle when Logan’s lips brushed against his cheek.

He craned his neck so he could meet Logan’s eyes, and despite the fact that Logan was human, Patton swore those blue eyes were alight with magic. Although, love was its own kind of magic, Patton supposed.

“Patton, may I kiss you?” Logan asked.

“Well, you’ve already kissed me a bunch of times without asking, and I haven’t told you to stop, have I?” Patton giggled. Logan fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“I’m aware, but consent is important,” Logan replied sternly.

“Well, it’s good to know you take that seriously. Now stop talking and kiss me,” Patton murmured. Logan chuckled low in his throat, then leaned in and pressed a loving kiss to Patton’s lips.

When he pulled away, Patton was a little disappointed, but he knew they both had things to do. Patton had to finish the dishes, and Logan probably wanted to make sure all the details were worked out for tonight. But to Patton’s surprise, Logan’s arms were still around his waist.

“Um, Lo? Kinda hard to wash dishes if you’re still hugging me,” Patton pointed out. Logan gave a disappointed sigh, and reluctantly drew his arms away from Patton. He missed the warmth of Logan’s body against his, but Patton didn’t dwell on it.

There was silence for a moment, and Patton thought that Logan must have left. However, when he turned to set a plate in the drying rack, he was very surprised to to see Logan standing there still. He was leaning against the counter, watching Patton do the dishes with an affectionate expression on his face. Logan saw Patton’s shocked glance, and gave a small chuckle.

“Yes Patton, I’m still here. I don’t believe it is wise for any of us to be alone in a room at any given time,” Logan explained. Patton smiled, and turned back to the sink.

Logan and Patton continued to chat idly as Patton finished washing the dishes. Part of Patton wanted to pretend that everything was okay, that this was just a normal day, a normal life. But the rest of Patton knew that wasn’t the case.

* * *

Meanwhile, when Patton and Logan were downstairs, Roman, Thomas, Annika, and Virgil were upstairs in Roman’s room. Roman had gotten the hang of magically altering his appearance, and Virgil felt fear spike through him when he saw his boyfriend appear as the D.O.M.E. operative that had taken down Logan, and nearly strangled Roman to death.

“Well Virge? Is it convincing enough?” Roman asked, although the voice wasn’t his. Virgil nodded, his hands clenched into fists, to keep his hands from shaking. The magical mirage of the D.O.M.E. operative shimmered away, and Roman stood there, concern in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, love. I didn’t mean to put you at unease,” Roman apologized. Virgil shrugged.

“It’s fine. How are you kids doing with your shapeshifting?” Virgil asked, brushing aside Roman’s concern.

Roman frowned slightly, but turned his attention to the two kids. Annika had gotten the hang of it, and now looked just like the woman who had held the strange orb that gave off moonlight. Thomas, on the other hand, was struggling quite a bit. He had gotten the basic body shape of the attacker who wore the silver gauntlet, but strands of his purple hair were still showing through, and he couldn’t quite get the eyes down.

Thomas broke the transformation with a sigh, and ran a hand through his hair. Annika shifted back as well, giving Thomas a curious glance.

“I’m sorry. I know I can do this, I just- ugh. How is this coming to you so easily?” Thomas asked, looking at Annika.

“I’ve been practicing my shapeshifting for years,” she shrugged.

“Well so have I!” Thomas exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.

“But, erm, I’ve been at this for decades,” Annika explained sheepishly. Roman, Virgil, and Thomas all stared at Annika, varying looks of shock on their faces.

“I’m sorry- I could’ve sworn you said decades,” Roman said, fairly sure he must have misheard Annika.

“Yeah, I said decades. Selkies age a lot slower than humans do,” she explained.

“Wait, so how old are you, actually? I thought you were eighteen,” Virgil asked.

“I’m more like 118 years old. I’m not totally sure though. But in selkie years, I am eighteen,” Annika replied.

“Huh. Well, nice to know I’m not the only one who is much older than they appear,” Virgil said. Annika gave a small smile.

“Well, do you have any shapeshifting tips? You’ve certainly had a lot of practice,” Thomas asked. Annika nodded, and began to give Thomas various pointers on how to best shapeshift, and more importantly, how to maintain a form. While the two teens were chatting, Roman took the opportunity to properly check in on Virgil.

“Virge, are you sure you’re alright?” he asked quietly, pulling him out into the hallway, as to not interrupt the kids while they were practicing.

“Roman, I’m fine-” Virgil was cut off by Roman placing a hand on his cheek.

“Virgil, you’ve been on edge ever since that dream you had last night,” Roman said softly.

“I can’t talk about that. Not now, with everything that’s going on,” Virgil stated firmly. Roman sighed.

“Okay. But you know that you can talk to me about it, right?” he asked. Virgil nodded, his silver eyes refusing to meet Roman’s brown ones. Roman took his jaw in hand, and gently forced Virgil to look him in the eyes.

“Yeah, I know,” Virgil muttered. Roman gave him a soft smile, and he began to lean in. He paused when their lips were merely breaths away, gazing into Virgil’s eyes. They were still for a moment, until Virgil let out a frustrated huff, and wound his fingers into Roman’s hair, tugging him down into a fierce kiss. Roman’s hands splayed against his back, keeping Virgil close to him. Roman wasn’t even aware they were moving until his back hit the wall, Virgil pinning him there and kissing him thoroughly.

The sound of someone clearing their throat beside them caused Roman and Virgil to break apart, faces flushed and panting. They glanced over and saw Patton standing there, desperately trying to hide a grin.

“Sorry to interrupt you two, but… I need to talk about something with you guys,” Patton said, the half-hidden grin slipping from his face and a melancholy expression replacing it. Virgil and Roman exchanged concerned glances, and Virgil stepped away from Roman, letting him move away from the wall, adjusting his bomber jacket as he did so.

“What’s going on, Patton?” Virgil asked.

“I think we need a plan b. In case something goes wrong with Logan’s plan. We still have that orb that the D.O.M.E. lady used on me?” Patton explained.

“Patton, what are you suggesting?” Roman asked.

“If I turn into my werewolf form, it’ll be enough for a distraction so you guys could get away if something went wrong,” Patton replied.

“You can’t, Logan would never approve of this!” Virgil protested.

“Which is why you can’t tell him. And why I need one of you to keep him from changing me back, if it turns out that worst comes to worst,” Patton said sternly. Virgil’s brow furrowed, deep in thought.

“And this would only be in a worst-case scenario?” Virgil asked. Patton nodded, while Roman stared at his boyfriend in shock.

“Virgil, surely you can’t actually be considering this!” Roman exclaimed, and then immediately was shushed by Virgil and Patton.

“Look, as much as I don’t like it, we do need a backup plan,” Virgil replied. Roman gave a defeated sigh.

“Fine. Let’s hope it will never come to this,” Roman conceded. Patton gave them a watery smile, and pulled Roman and Virgil into a group hug. Virgil stiffened at first, but then wrapped his arms around the werewolf and his mage, smiling softly, even as an anxious feeling settled in his gut.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan is set in motion... but will it succeed?

Night had come far sooner than any of them had expected. All of them were silent as they ate dinner, each one of them mulling over the plan. It was simple, right? Patton, Logan, and Virgil would be “taken in” by Roman, Thomas, and Annika. Joan, Talyn, Hestia, and Haven would be waiting in the van they had procured from the D.O.M.E. operatives that had attacked them just three days earlier. Once inside, they would break up into groups. Thomas, Annika, and Virgil would free the mythicals, while Roman, Patton, and Logan would head to the main control center and work on erasing all of the files D.O.M.E. had on mythicals. After Thomas, Annika, and Virgil freed the mythicals, they would meet the others in the control center. They would leave the building together, and Roman would set it ablaze with his magic. That is, if everything went well. But Virgil had a sinking feeling that Patton’s backup plan was going to be needed.

“You ready?” Roman asked quietly, his voice shaking Virgil out of his thoughts. Virgil looked up from his seated position on the couch, and saw that Roman was in his D.O.M.E. operative disguise. In his hand, he held a pair of handcuffs, which Virgil knew for a fact were made of silver. Roman and Logan were opposed to using actual silver cuffs on Patton and Virgil, but Virgil had told them that it needed to be convincing.

“As I’ll ever be,” Virgil sighed, holding out his wrists to Roman. Roman’s mirage flickered for a moment, allowing Virgil to see the pain in his warm brown eyes as he snapped the cuffs on Virgil’s wrists. Virgil let out a hiss of pain, but stood up from the couch, letting Roman grab him by the forearm.

“You have the- uh- necessary tool for Patton’s backup plan?” Virgil whispered. Roman nodded, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a smooth white orb, about the size of a golf ball. There were two small buttons, one on top of the orb, and one on the bottom. Virgil knew that if both of those buttons were pushed at the same time, moonlight would radiate from the orb.

“Here’s hoping we don’t need it,” Roman murmured, his voice taking on the gruff tone of the D.O.M.E. operative. He tucked the orb back into his pocket, and led Virgil out of the house by his arm. The others were already outside, waiting in the D.O.M.E. van that they had found parked a bit down the street from their house, from when D.O.M.E. had tried to take them just three days earlier. Joan, Talyn, Haven, and Hestia were waiting in Logan’s car, ready to follow behind the van. They had agreed that they would wait about a block away from D.O.M.E. headquarters, and that Roman would send Hestia a message via their mental link if something went wrong.

Virgil got into the back of the van, with Logan, Patton, and Thomas, who was in the form of the D.O.M.E. operative that wore the silver gauntlet. No one said anything, each of them mentally preparing for what was to come. Roman got in the front seat of the van, and the band of misfits drove to D.O.M.E. headquarters.

* * *

Patton’s heart was thudding out of his chest during the ride to D.O.M.E. headquarters. Because of the silver handcuffs he wore, Patton’s vision was slightly blurred, and a stinging pain continued to prod at his wrists, but he knew it was all necessary. It had to look real.

He glanced at Virgil, who was leaning against the metal wall of the van. Virgil was looking a little worse for wear, his hoodie rumpled and bangs sticking to his forehead, his face slick with sweat. His piercing silver-gray eyes were unusually dull, and Patton briefly wondered if the silver cuffs were a mistake. Virgil noticed his stare, and gave him a weak smile.

Patton switched his gaze over to Logan and Thomas, who were sitting across from Virgil and himself. Thomas’s form seemed to be holding, and Logan- well, Patton wasn’t so sure he had ever seen Logan this terrified in his life. His eyes were wide, and he seemed to be staring at nothing. Patton wanted nothing more than to take Logan into his arms, and assure him that everything would be okay. But Patton couldn’t do that. After all, they had a role to play: the captive mythicals… and their human friend who got too involved.

The van lurched to a stop, and Patton nearly fell off of the bench and face-planted into the van’s floor. Fortunately, Thomas lurched to his feet and caught Patton by the collar of his polo. His grip was firm, almost harmfully so, and Patton’s eyes widened.

“Sorry, it’s showtime,” Thomas muttered gruffly, the harsh voice not his own. Patton tried to suppress a shudder at how _well_ Thomas played a cold villain. He let himself be shoved back into his seat, and the van doors opened.

“Well it’s about time,” a voice said. A few D.O.M.E. operatives stood behind the van, two of them being Roman and Annika in disguise.

“Sorry about that. Damned mythicals gave us a bit of trouble,” Thomas scoffed. The operative closest to the van raised an eyebrow.

“Wait… shouldn’t there be four of them?” he asked, instantly suspicious. Thomas’s lips curled into a smirk.

“There were four, until a certain wolf took care of our mage problem,” Thomas said, grabbing Patton by the shirt collar and pulling him to his feet for emphasis. Logan’s face twisted into a grimace, fists clenched. Even though it was just an act, he didn’t like seeing Patton treated so roughly.

“What about the familiar?” he asked.

“Died minutes after the mage passed. Familiars can’t survive without their mage,” Roman piped up. The operative nodded approvingly.

“Good. Anything else to report?” he asked.

“Nope. Everything went as planned,” Annika replied. The operative raised an eyebrow.

“Then why the hell were you so late?” he asked evenly. Everyone froze, except for the real D.O.M.E. operatives, who began to eye the others suspiciously.

“I- uh,” Annika trailed off. The operative suddenly reached out and grabbed Annika’s jacket, tearing it off of her. Suddenly, Annika was on the ground, her selkie tail flopping uselessly behind her. In the operative’s hand was no longer the black jacket of a D.O.M.E. operative, but a gray pelt of some sort. Patton, Logan, and Virgil exchanged confused glances, while Roman and Thomas simply stared in shock.

“A selkie. How interesting,” the operative purred.

“Well, I suppose we’re improvising now,” Roman muttered, and with a snap of his fingers, the mirage of the D.O.M.E. operative disappeared. He summoned flames in the palm of each hand, and began to hurl them at the D.O.M.E. operatives. They scattered, not ready for the sudden attack.

Thomas quickly freed Logan, Patton, and Virgil from their handcuffs, and Patton almost immediately felt better. Virgil perked up pretty soon as well, and Logan leapt down from the van, going to Annika’s side.

“What on earth happened?” Logan asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

“I’m sorry- I didn’t think they’d be able to spot my pelt that easy,” Annika replied shakily.

“Your what?” Logan asked.

“My pelt. It’s what keeps me in a human form, and what makes me shapeshift. Haven’t you noticed that all the times I’m human, I’m wearing a sweatshirt or jacket of some sort?” Annika explained. Logan thought for a moment, then realized she was right.

“Well, this would have been nice to know earlier. We could have planned this much better, without any inconsistencies-” Logan’s sentence was cut off by a shout from Roman.

“We can talk logistics later, I’ve got a bit of a problem on my hands here!” he shouted, barely holding off the D.O.M.E. operatives on his own. A snarl came from Virgil, and he used his vampire speed to take down the D.O.M.E. operatives, one by one. Soon, with Roman and Virgil working together, the only operative left standing was the one holding Annika’s pelt. Roman moved to attack him, but Virgil put up a hand.

“We need him,” he growled, fixing the operative with a piercing glare.

“Like I’d ever help a-” the man’s sentence cut off, when Virgil’s eyes began to glow a silvery white. A similar glow reflected in the operative’s eyes, and his defiant expression melted into one of tranquility, almost boredness. The gray pelt slipped from his fingers, and Roman scrambled forward to snatch it up. He began to hand it to Annika, but she suddenly got very wide-eyed, causing him to hesitate.

“Wait! Don’t just hand it to me, you do realize that giving a selkie’s pelt back to them is basically a marriage proposal, right?” Annika said, eying the pelt warily.

“Oh. Um, what should I do?” Roman asked.

“Just drop it on the ground there. I’ll scooch over to it,” Annika replied. Roman did as she asked, then turned to the operative. His eyes were still glazed over and glowing silver, like Virgil’s were.

“Virge, what exactly did you do to him?” Roman asked.

“Vampires have hypnotic powers. As long as I keep my eyes focused on him, he’ll be under my control,” Virgil replied.

“Well, now what do we do with him?” Annika asked. She had now successfully retrieved her pelt, and was standing in her human form.

“He could get us inside undetected, far better than we could without him,” Virgil replied.

“He’s right, and he most likely has access codes that could help us infiltrate their control center,” Logan added.

“But that means we would need to change our plan! Virgil would need to come with us to keep the operative under his control, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to have the kiddos go free the mythicals by themselves,” Patton pointed out.

“Patton, we can free them on our own, don’t worry. You guys need to erase the info that D.O.M.E. has on the mythicals, otherwise rescuing them would be pointless,” Thomas said, and Patton was surprised but proud to see the determination set in Thomas’s features.

“Then let’s stop dawdling and get this show on the road! D.O.M.E. isn’t going to magically fall by itself!” Roman declared. They all found themselves smiling a bit, in spite of the seriousness of the situation, at Roman’s exclamation.

“For once, I find myself agreeing with Roman. Virgil, if you’d tell our new friend to show us in,” Logan smirked.

“With pleasure,” Virgil answered.

* * *

Thanks to the D.O.M.E. operative, it was ridiculously easy to get into the building. Virgil thought it was almost too easy, but he shoved aside his worries and instead focused on the task at hand. Everything would be fine, D.O.M.E. would fall, Patton’s plan b would never need to be used.

The two teenagers separated from the group soon after they all got into the building, and Virgil knew it wouldn’t be long until alarms would go off, signaling the escaping of heaven knows how many mythicals. He quickened his pace, forcing the others to jog slightly to keep up with him. Roman, Logan, Patton, and Virgil were following the operative, who Virgil manipulated to lead them to the main control center. Virgil hated manipulating people with his powers. It reminded him far too much of his past. Specifically, it reminded him of _someone_ from his past.

They soon reached the main control center, fortunately distracting Virgil from the distressing memories of his past. The four of them walked in after the D.O.M.E. operative, and surveyed the large room. It was circular in shape, with a large, round computer console in the center. It was far more advanced than any type of computer they had ever seen, and it reminded Virgil of something out of Star Trek.

“Go to the computer and pull up all of the files on mythicals,” Virgil ordered. The operative immediately walked over to the console, and his fingers flew over the controls. A holographic screen flickered to life, and dozens- no, _hundreds_ of files came up.

“Oh my,” Patton breathed.

“This may take longer than anticipated,” Logan said, a bit daunted by all of the information before them.

“Well Logan, do your thing,” Roman sighed. Logan nodded curtly, and walked over to the console. He began to fiddle with the controls, pressing a few buttons here and there.

Time seemed to drag on as Logan worked at the console, and Virgil gulped nervously. He hoped Logan would hurry it up, because he could feel his control on the operative slipping fast. The silvery glow was slowly fading from the man’s eyes, and Virgil couldn’t quite latch onto his thoughts like he could before.

Suddenly, an alarm blared, causing them all to jump, and Virgil’s hypnotic spell over the man snapped. The operative blinked, and a scowl came over his face. Before any of them could do anything, he pulled out his communicator and spoke into it.

“Calling all units, five mythicals and a human have broken into our facility, I am currently with three of the mythicals and the-” Roman fired a blast of magic at him before the operative could finish his sentence.

Just as the operative went down, Logan made a sound of triumph. He whirled around to look at Patton, Roman, and Virgil, a disc of some sort in hand. The others exchanged confused glances.

“All of the information is on this drive, let’s go,” Logan explained.

“Well, that works, I guess. Now to meet the others-” Virgil’s sentence was cut off by the doors to the control center suddenly bursting open. A dozen operatives rushed in, with various weapons armed and at the ready. Virgil’s heart dropped. He exchanged glances with Roman and Patton, and Patton nodded grimly. With tears glistening in his eyes, Patton turned and briskly walked over to Logan.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, and gave a quick kiss to Logan. Confusion was etched in his features, and he tried to grab at Patton when he stepped away. But Virgil had come up behind him, gripping his arms tightly.

“Virgil- what are you… let go of me!” Logan demanded. Virgil said nothing, and just looked at Patton sadly. Roman took the orb out of his pocket, and Logan’s eyes widened in fear and realization.

“No- Patton, no! You can’t do this! Please, Roman, Virgil, don’t let him do this!” Logan cried. Logan wrestled in Virgil’s grip, trying to break free.

“Logan, don’t make this harder than it has to be,” he growled, but there was a brokenness in his voice.

“What the hell is going on?! Put down that orb, mage!” one of the operatives demanded. Roman swallowed the lump in his throat, and pressed the buttons on the orb.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton makes a sacrifice, the others aren't happy with it, but they have no choice.

Moonlight burst from the small orb the moment Roman pressed the buttons. Patton felt the wolf awaken within him, but instead of trying to run from it, like he usually did, he welcomed the wolf with open arms. These people had hurt his friends- no, his _family_ \- for far too long. And Patton was tired of being the helpless one, being the weak one. It was time to show D.O.M.E. who they were dealing with.

The transformation was nearly seamless by now, and it took mere minutes for Patton to reach werewolf form. He surveyed the operatives with gleaming yellow eyes, snarling at them. Usually, Patton had no control in his wolf form, but the unbridled emotions of rage kept him focused on one target, and one target only. D.O.M.E.

Patton cast one last glance back at his friends. Roman looked positively heartbroken, his hand clutching the orb tightly. Virgil held on to Logan, his expression grim. And Logan- Logan’s expression sent a spike of anguish and sorrow straight through his heart. Tears were streaming down his face, his voice hoarse from screaming Patton’s name. Patton wasn’t sure he had ever seen Logan this broken, had ever seen such pain in those gorgeous blue eyes. That look almost made Patton shift back to his human form, but he needed to keep his family safe, and keep the operatives occupied so that they could escape.

“Run,” Patton growled, and his head swiveled back to glare down the D.O.M.E. operatives. He lunged at the closest one, claws outstretched. It was ridiculous, how quick and easy Patton was able to take down the operative. Had he been in more control of his thoughts and actions, he would have been horrified.

Logan thrashed against Virgil's grip, desperate to get to Patton and turn him back. How could the others let him do this? There had to be another way, Logan would rather get taken by D.O.M.E. than have Patton turn into a werewolf. Why on earth didn't the others talk to him about this, how could the others let Patton turn into his wolf form? He couldn't control it, how did they know that they wouldn't get hurt too?

“Logan, I'm warning you. Don't make me use my powers,” Virgil growled, gripping Logan's arms so tightly that it hurt. That statement only made Logan fight harder against his friend.

Virgil let out a shaky breath, and let go of one of Logan's arms to instead grab his jaw, forcing his head to turn and meet Virgil’s gaze. His eyes glowed silver, and the Logan's eyes began to reflect that glow, his face going slack.

“Sleep,” Virgil commanded. Almost immediately, Logan's eyes rolled back, and he fell limp in Virgil’s arms. Virgil shifted so that he held Logan close to his chest, as if he were a small child. He glanced up and saw that the operatives had their full attention on Patton, no longer aware that Roman, Logan, and Virgil were still there.

“Roman, let's go, if we stay here any longer, we'll get caught,” Virgil urged. Roman hesitated, watching Patton take on the operatives with a torn expression.

“O-okay. We shouldn't let Patton's sacrifice be in vain,” he said, voice shaking. They slipped past the operatives, and with one last sad glance towards towards Patton, Virgil left the control center, Logan in his arms, and Roman trailing behind him.

* * *

Regret gnawed at Virgil once they had gotten out of the building. He hated the emotional pain in Logan’s eyes, he hated that he had to use his hypnosis to subdue Logan, he hated the tremble in Roman’s voice, _he hated leaving Patton behind._ Why did he agree to Patton’s backup plan, why didn’t he listen to Logan’s pleas? But it would be suicide to go back for Patton, and Virgil knew it.

They met up with Thomas and Annika, who were waiting outside the building like they had planned. However, once they saw Logan in Virgil’s arms, and the obvious absence of Patton, they knew something was wrong. The two teenage mythicals exchanged nervous glances, and the looks of concern on both of their faces were so heartbreaking that Virgil wished he had been the one to sacrifice himself, not Patton.

“What happened, where’s Patton?!” Thomas asked, tears brimming in his eyes.

“Thomas, I-” Virgil started, but was cut off by a hushed question from Annika.

“Roman, why are you holding that orb?” she pointed at the golf ball-sized object in his hand. Roman looked down at his hand, and swallowed the lump in his throat.

“He- he talked to Virgil and I. Before we left. And-a-and he said we needed a backup plan,” Roman stuttered, his usual bravado gone.

“No,” Thomas gasped.

“He willingly transformed to save us,” Virgil said solemnly.

“And what happened to Mr. Taylor? Is he okay?” Annika asked, regarding Logan with concern.

“He’s fine. I just had to- to use… I had to-” Virgil rambled, cutting his sentence off and taking a deep breath.

“I used my hypnosis on Logan!” Virgil exclaimed, all of his pent-up emotions pouring out all at once. The teens were silent for a moment.

“We’ve got to go back for him!” Thomas exclaimed, starting to march back towards the building.

“Thomas, no! Roman, take Logan,” Virgil ordered, pretty much shoving Logan into Roman’s arms, and then hurrying after Thomas. He grabbed Thomas by the arm, who glanced back at Virgil with a confused and hurt expression.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” Thomas demanded, trying to pull out of Virgil’s grip. It painfully reminded Virgil of how Logan had struggled against his hold just moments earlier.

“Thomas, going back in there is suicide. Patton would want us to be safe,” Virgil pleaded softly.

“If you don’t want me to go in there, you’re just going to have to use your hypnosis on me too,” Thomas snapped. If Virgil’s heart hadn’t broken by now, it had definitely just broken by Thomas’s words.

“Thomas-” Virgil was cut off by shouting from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw that Joan and Talyn were running towards them, with Haven and Hestia flying alongside the duo.

“Hestia seemed pretty distressed, what’s going on?” Joan asked, skidding to a halt beside Roman. They glanced around, first noticing Logan in Roman’s arms, then Virgil’s grip on Thomas.

“Where’s Patton?” Talyn piped up. Roman and Virgil exchanged glances, and Hestia gave a concerned croon when she saw her mage’s melancholy expression.

“He’s still inside, we have to go back for him!” Thomas exclaimed, struggling against Virgil with renewed vigor. Joan and Talyn exchanged solemn glances, the two of them seemingly having a conversation without speaking.

“Roman, give me the moonlight sphere,” Talyn demanded. Roman gasped, his expression a mix of concern and pure horror at what Talyn was implying.

“Talyn, no! It’s too dangerous,” Virgil pleaded.

“And Patton is in there, all alone,” Talyn replied firmly.

“But your cat form-” Talyn glared at Virgil.

“Is something I can control. I’ve been a werecat all of my life,” they said. Virgil and the others exchanged confused glances.

“Wait, you mean to say that you were born a werecat?” Roman asked. Talyn huffed out an annoyed sigh.

“Yes, I was. But that’s not important right now. What is important is saving Patton. Give me that orb, or I’ll just get Haven to transform me. Your choice,” they snapped. Roman’s expression seemed torn for a moment, but then he shifted Logan in his arms, so that he could hold out the sphere to Talyn.

“Talyn, please,” Virgil begged. He couldn’t bear the thought of one of his students getting hurt, but admittedly, he didn’t really want to leave Patton behind either. Talyn ignored him, and instead took the sphere from Roman.

“I’ll be fine,” Talyn assured them, and with that, they pressed the buttons on the orb.

The group of misfits watched as Talyn transformed. Their face became more cat-like in appearance, ears becoming pointed and hair beginning to resemble a tiger’s fur. Their hair retained its blue hue, but it was muted, and black stripes appeared in it. Talyn’s hands looked more like paws than hands, and sharp claws were at the end of each fingertip.

Soon, they were in their full werecat form, looking a bit like a cross between a tiger and panther. Their fur was a bluish gray, darker in some places and lighter in others, to the point where the fur was nearly white, and black stripes were patterned on them like a tiger’s. Talyn’s eyes were a yellow-green hue, fierce and determined.

Talyn let out a roar, loud and powerful enough to startle Logan out of his hypnosis-induced slumber. He glanced around in an alarmed state, eyes wide and panicked. He unconsciously clutched onto Roman like a terrified child, to which Roman looked a little miffed at.

“Where- what- Talyn?” he gasped.

“Yes. They’re going to go get Patton,” Roman explained. Logan immediately tried to scramble out of Roman’s arms.

“Then I’m going with them,” Logan huffed, when Roman’s hold tightened on him.

“No you’re not. I do need Roman, though,” Talyn said, their voice more of a growl.

“What?!” the others exclaimed, all at once. Logan, Thomas, and Annika looked confused, Joan looked a little disappointed, Roman looked apprehensive, and Virgil looked furious.

“You can teleport. Honestly why you guys didn’t think to just magic your way out of there instead of sacrificing Patton is beyond me, but it’s a little late to go back now,” Talyn explained, rolling their eyes. The others went silent for a moment.

“That… that would have been smarter,” Roman replied bashfully.

“This is why you should have consulted me before making such a plan. Please put me down, and go rescue Patton,” Logan ordered. Roman obliged, and Logan adjusted his tie with a huff, muttering something about not being a damsel in distress.

Virgil let go of Thomas’s arm, who rubbed at it absentmindedly once it was released. Virgil then walked over to Roman, and placed a hand on his cheek. There was a flurry of emotions over his face, and Roman gave him a soft smile.

“I’ll be okay,” Roman murmured.

“Roman, I- I-” Virgil sighed, and instead leaned in, kissing Roman softly. He leaned his forehead against Roman’s. Roman wrapped his arms around Virgil, hugging him tightly.

“Have no fear, my love. I will return,” Roman said with a sad smile. He pulled away from Virgil, giving him one last kiss, and then turned to Talyn.

“Well, my feline friend, let’s go rescue Patton!” Roman exclaimed. He gestured to Hestia, who gladly settled on his shoulder. Talyn gave a wry smile, displaying their sharp teeth. Roman then headed towards the building, with Talyn prowling after.

* * *

D.O.M.E. headquarters was dark, the only light being the red flashing of the alarms. Roman summoned light magic in his hands, casting Roman, Hestia, and Talyn in a warm glow. Talyn’s eyes glinted in the light, searching for a sign of, well, anyone. The building seemed oddly empty.

“C’mon, we last were with Patton at the control center. Maybe he’s still there,” Roman urged, striding further into the building. Talyn looked uneasy, but followed after Roman.

The building was not as empty as they had first assumed. As they made their way in further, the unlikely trio came across dozens of bodies of the D.O.M.E. operatives, scientists, and others who worked for the organization. Roman’s face had paled considerably, but Talyn wasn’t sure if that was because of the horrors before them, or if it was a reflection of the glowing light in Roman’s palm.

“Let’s keep moving. Patton has to be around here some-” Talyn stopped, ears pricking up. Roman frowned, confused at the werecat’s action.

“Talyn? What’s-” Talyn shushed him.

“I heard something,” they explained. Roman snapped his mouth shut, tensing for a possible attack.

Talyn strained their ears, listening closely. It sounded like scuffling, then- they stifled a gasp. Talyn could have sworn they heard whimpering, almost like a dog. Could it be Patton? The sounds seemed to be coming from a door to their left.

“I heard a whimpering sound, almost like a dog. It’s coming from that door,” Talyn whispered, pointing at the said door.

Roman’s heart leapt in his chest, and he cautiously made his way over to the door. He cast a glance back over his shoulder at Talyn. They nodded, and he opened the door with his free hand.

The room was dark, even darker than the rest of the building had been. Roman willed the glowing light in his palm to shine brighter, but when he did so, he was met with a growl. Talyn immediately came in front of Roman in a protective stance, when they realized who was in the room. Patton.

He was on all fours, but he was leaning awkwardly to the left. Roman gasped when he saw that Patton’s right leg was injured, blood pouring from a wound on it. Patton’s teeth were bared, and his yellow eyes were glinting dangerously from behind his glasses. It would have been comical, his glasses perched on his snout, but the rest of him was just too terrifying. Sharp claws, matted fur, jagged teeth, and yellow eyes sent shivers down Roman’s spine.

“Patton, it’s us, we’ve come to rescue you,” Talyn said, their voice a comforting purr. Patton snarled at Talyn, but they didn’t back down. Instead, they took a step forward.

“We’re going to bring you back to Logan, okay Patton?” Roman said, eyeing his friend warily. Patton perked up at Logan’s name. Talyn took another step forward, thinking that Patton was beginning to come back to himself, but they couldn’t have been more wrong. With a mighty howl, Patton lunged at Talyn.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It ends (don't worry, there's gonna be an epilogue).

On the inside, Patton was screaming, begging for Roman and Talyn to run away. But on the outside, he was attacking Talyn. Talyn, the sweet kitty kiddo who never did anything to cause Patton or the others harm. Patton didn’t want to hurt Talyn, but his wolf instincts were screaming danger _danger_ **_danger!_ ** So here he was, watching his own actions like some sort of twisted horror film.

Talyn hissed and clawed at him, trying to get Patton off of them. But Patton was just too strong, his paws holding them down while his jaws snapped at Talyn’s head. Talyn managed to evade his sharp teeth, but Patton knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep it up. He knew that they’d tire out, his teeth would tear into-

Patton gave a wounded howl as pain flared in his right leg, his train of thought ending abruptly. Talyn took this chance to shove Patton off of them, scampering away from him as he landed flat on his back with a grunt. Through his pain-induced hazy vision, Patton vaguely recognized Roman standing above him, wisps of magic dancing along his form.

“I’m terribly sorry that I had to do that, Patton. Let’s get you to Logan,” Roman said. If Patton were able to talk, he would have asked how exactly Roman planned on doing that. His confusion only grew when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Roman said something else, but Patton couldn’t quite make it out.

Suddenly, there was a bright light, and Patton’s stomach lurched. The light cleared, and Patton found that his surroundings had changed. He quickly pried Roman’s hand off of his shoulder, and shoved him aside. He scrambled to his feet the best he could, despite his injured leg, and snarled. His wolfish instincts kicked in, and he scanned the people around him. Patton recognized them as his friends, his _family_ , but the wolf did not.

“Patton,” a voice said, piercing through Patton’s frayed thoughts. The wolf tamed slightly, and he whirled around to face the source of the voice. Everything seemed to slow to a stop, and Patton could think more clearly once he saw him. Logan.

Logan stepped closer to Patton, and he shrunk back slightly. The wolf didn’t exactly want to be tamed, but Logan’s presence was too alluring. There was love and concern in Logan’s eyes, and the sight of it made Patton want to cry. He didn’t deserve those emotions directed at him, he did nothing but hurt people, he was nothing but a monster.

“Please, come back to me, Patton,” Logan pleaded, reaching out towards him. Patton remained rooted to the spot, but he leaned forward slightly.

Logan stepped closer still, and Patton felt the wolf begin to retreat within him. With each step Logan took, Patton felt more and more human again. And when Logan placed a hand on his face, gently caressing his cheek, Patton felt all traces of the wolf melt away.

“There you are,” Logan murmured, leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on Patton’s lips.

“Logan,” Patton gasped, and he flung himself forward, wrapping his arms around Logan and hugging him tightly. Logan stumbled backwards, nearly toppling to the ground, but chuckled and returned Patton’s embrace.

Patton didn't even realize he was sobbing until Logan began murmuring words of comfort to him, one hand gently running through his hair. Logan’s other arm pulled Patton closer to his chest, and Patton buried his nose in the crook of Logan's neck.

“Sh, it's okay. I've got you now,” Logan murmured.

A few moments later, Patton pulled away from Logan, wiping at his eyes. He looked over at the group of misfits before him. Virgil was giving him a weary smile, and for the first time, Patton thought that Virgil truly _looked_ 228 years old. Roman looked exhausted, but he still stood confidently, fire dancing along his fingertips, and Hestia perched on his shoulder. Thomas had tear tracks trailing down his cheeks, but he was still giving Patton a reassuring smile. Annika had concern in her eyes, almost hidden by the relieved smile she wore. In her palm, Haven the moonlight fairy stood, pearly white tears in her eyes. Joan was eyeing Patton warily, a protective arm around Talyn. Patton felt his heart stutter when he saw Talyn. They were human once again, but there was a cut under their left eye, and they were cradling their right arm awkwardly.

Patton started to step forward, reaching out and intending to apologize to Talyn, but pain flared up in his right leg, and he was suddenly reminded of his own injury. He let out a pained gasp, and Patton stumbled to the side, his leg suddenly giving out. Strong arms caught him in an instant, keeping Patton from hitting the ground.

“Easy, Patton. You’ve sustained an injury to your upper thigh,” Logan said, scoopng Patton up into his arms.

“Yeah, I kinda forgot about that,” Patton whimpered, his expression contorted with pain.

“It’s okay Patton, we’ll get you home in just a moment. Roman, if you would do the honors of making D.O.M.E. headquarters into a bonfire?” Logan asked, a smirk on his lips.

“With pleasure,” Roman grinned.

He turned towards the building, the flames dancing along his fingertips growing into a raging fire. The flames grew hotter, and the others were forced to step away from Roman to avoid getting burned. Wind began whipping around him, carrying him up into the air. He cast a glance over his shoulder, and Patton nearly shivered when he saw his eyes. They were glowing a fiery red-orange, burning like a set of suns.

Roman rose a few feet higher, and then stopped, hovering in midair. He began to mutter something under his breath, and it took Patton a moment to realize that it was an incantation of some sort. It had been ages since Roman had used any verbal magic, due to its potency and unpredictability. But it was apparent that Roman was willing to risk anything to take down D.O.M.E.

“Deyortsed eb yam ecilam taht os, hsa ot nrub!” Roman chanted. With those words, Roman raised his hands, and plumes of flame shot from his palms at the D.O.M.E. headquarters. The building caught fire unnaturally quick, and Patton knew that if it hadn’t been for Roman’s magic, it would have taken much longer for it to catch.

Roman lowered his hands once he finished firing the plumes of flames, and he hovered in the air for a moment. Suddenly, the winds that were swirling around Roman, keeping him afloat, stopped. He plummeted to the ground, and Patton heard Virgil curse under his breath.

Virgil darted forward, managing to catch Roman before he hit the ground. Roman’s eyes were closed, and his breathing was shallow. Hestia hovered over him, letting out roars of distress.

“Roman- Roman?!” he cried, cradling Roman close to him. Roman’s eyes sluggishly fluttered open at the sound of Virgil’s voice.

“Virge?” Roman asked wearily. Virgil sighed in relief.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s me. Geez, don’t scare me like that, okay?” Virgil said, his hold loosening on Roman slightly.

“Should’ve brought marshmallows,” Roman sighed.

“Yes, we- wait what?” Virgil asked, confusion etched in his features.

“I made D.O.M.E. headquarters into a big ol’ campfire. We could’ve roasted marshmallows,” Roman said, his tone dazed and slightly whiny. Virgil rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t realize magically exhausting yourself made you completely loopy,” Virgil deadpanned.

“I’m not loopy! I’m perfectly fiiiine!” Roman whined. Virgil groaned in frustration.

“Whatever. Let’s go home, shall we?” Virgil said, looking at the others for confirmation.

“That sounds wonderful, Virgil,” Logan said with a smile. The others nodded in agreement, and the misfits made their way home, finally safe from the Department of Mythical Extermination.

* * *

As they entered their home, it was hard to believe they were finally safe. No more hiding, no more running. D.O.M.E. was gone. The band of misfits walked into the living room, exhausted beyond belief. The teenagers flopped down onto the couch, one by one. Virgil carried Roman over to the other couch, trying to get him to lay down. Roman did, but he tugged down Virgil on top of him. Hestia gave a surprised squeak, as she was nuzzled into Roman’s chest. She flew up into the air, hovering above the couple that was now sprawled on the couch.

“Roman!” Virgil hissed.

“I want cuddles!” Roman whined.

“You idiot, you could be injured! At least let me look at you first!” Virgil protested.

“Cuddles from you could heal any injury!” Roman cried triumphantly.

“But-” Virgil started.

“Cuddles!” Roman interrupted with a pout. Hestia gave a chirring sound that Virgil now recognized as her laughter. Virgil sent a half-hearted glare towards the tiny phoenix dragon, but gave into his boyfriend’s whims.

Logan watched the pair with an amused smile. He had spent years watching those two dance around each other, so clearly smitten with each other, but neither one of them having the courage to confront those feelings. In a strange way, D.O.M.E. brought them together. Or at least, helped them realize the feelings they had for one another. However, Logan wished that it wasn’t under such dangerous circumstances that they were brought together.

He looked down at the man he held in his arms. Patton was watching the proceedings as well, smiling softly and leaning his head on Logan’s chest. He seemed to notice Logan’s gaze, because suddenly, a pair of soft green eyes bore into Logan’s blue ones. Logan’s face flushed, and he glanced away bashfully. But his eyes soon refocused on Patton, whose smile had grown weary. With a frown, Logan also noticed how pale Patton looked.

“Apologies for staring. Now, let’s get you patched up, hm?” Logan asked, glancing pointedly at Patton’s injured leg.

“Yeah… everything kinda feels fuzzy,” Patton murmured, eyes fluttering. Logan let out a sharp gasp, drawing the attention of the others in the room.

“Patton, stay awake for me. You’ve lost a lot of blood,” Logan said, gently lowering Patton to the ground and then kneeling beside him. Hestia was at Patton’s side in an instant, hovering above his leg. She landed just beside the injury, and began crying her golden healing tears onto his wound. Color slowly made its way back into Patton’s face, and he was no longer fighting to keep his eyes open. His smile was true, instead of being a facade to hide his pain.

“Hi,” Patton breathed, gazing at Logan.

“Hello,” Logan chuckled. Patton sat up, slowly, and Logan put a hand on his back to help steady him.

“How are you feeling?” Logan asked.

“Much better, thanks to Hestia!” Patton beamed. Logan glanced over to where the little dragon was- rather, where she was _before._ Hestia had now flown over to Talyn, and was fussing over them, trying to heal their arm.

“How did you manage to sustain that injury, Patton?” Logan asked, focusing his attention back on Patton.

“Oh, one of the operatives had a knife. And it kinda got worse when Roman had to get me off of Talyn…” Patton trailed off sadly.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Talyn interrupted. Patton’s head shot up, looking at Talyn with surprise.

“You couldn’t control what you were doing. I was in more control, since I was born a werecat. But I’m willing to bet that you were not born a werewolf,” Talyn explained. Patton gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Uh, no. I was bitten when I was about your age, actually. I thought a werewolf was a dog,” Patton admitted sheepishly. There was silence for a moment.

“You tried to pet a werewolf? Of all of the people to fall for, I had to fall for you, didn’t I?” Logan sighed. Patton giggled.

“Yup!” he replied, and he eagerly leaned forward and gave Logan a gentle kiss that, despite its sweetness, made Logan’s brain short-circuit and fire dance in his veins. Logan was fairly certain he was grinning like an idiot when Patton pulled away.

Logan glanced around the living room. Roman and Virgil were cuddled on one couch, exchanging soft words and the occasional kiss. Hestia was nestling in Virgil’s hair, purring contentedly. Thomas, Joan, Talyn, Annika, and Haven were on the other couch, chatting excitedly about their freedom. He and Patton were still on the floor, but not that Logan minded. They were home, they were safe.


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loose ends are tied up, new things are revealed. Keep an eye out for the sequel, Retribution. (Also there will be a bit of a break between this fic and its sequel, as I am going to focus on other projects in the meantime, though!)

The household of Logan Taylor, Patton Bellamy, Roman Silvestri, and Virgil Caelius was no longer in the shadow of fear. Instead, there was light and happiness inside the home. The teenagers had long since left, gone back to their own homes. Thomas, Joan, and Talyn, to their families, and Annika, to the sea. She said that while it was fun to be in the human world, she missed the ocean. Oddly enough, Haven the moonlight fairy decided to join her. According to Joan’s translations, the little fairy had always wanted to meet water fairies, and other aquatic mythical creatures. Annika was delighted to have a new friend, and the selkie and fairy left together.

Virgil observed his friends with a small smile. They had opted to have a “slumber party” in the living room, instead of going to their separate rooms. Logan and Patton were curled up one of the two couches in their living room. Patton was nuzzling into Logan’s chest, sleeping peacefully. Logan’s arms were around Patton, hugging him close, as if he was afraid, even in sleep, that he would lose him.

Roman and Virgil were on the other couch, Virgil atop of Roman’s chest, and Hestia nestled in the crook of Roman’s neck. At first, Virgil was a little surprised (and honestly a little saddened, but he’d never willingly admit that) that Hestia hadn’t chosen to curl up in his hair, like she usually did. Then again, she had been separated from Roman for a bit, so Hestia most likely just missed her mage.

Suddenly, Virgil heard a strange sound. It was soft, almost unintelligible, but Virgil could have sworn it sounded like wing beats. He slowly sat up, being careful as to not wake up Roman or the others. He strained his ears, but heard nothing else. Virgil huffed out a nervous laugh. All of this D.O.M.E. business had him paranoid.

Before Virgil could lay back down, he saw a shadow dash in front of the glass door that led to their backyard. His breath hitched, and he immediately scrambled off of the couch, again being wary of waking the others. Hestia stirred slightly, raising her head and blinking sleepily at Virgil. She cocked her head to the side, immediately concerned.

“I’ll be right back. It’s probably nothing, and I’m just being paranoid,” Virgil assured the little dragon. She gave him a skeptical look, but nuzzled back into Roman’s neck and dozed off.

Virgil made his way over to the glass patio door. D.O.M.E. was gone, there should be no cause for alarm. He probably just saw an animal dart by or something. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

He slid the door open, and stepped outside, quietly shutting the door behind him. It was a clear night, and only the sound of crickets could be heard. Using his vampire night vision, he looked around their yard. There was nothing but a picnic table, and their garden. Virgil was about to sigh in relief, then go back inside to curl up with Roman, but then he heard that sound again. Wing beats. And they were very close.

There was a soft thump, as if something had landed beside him, and Virgil whirled around to see a winged figure standing a few feet to the left of him. On instinct, he lunged at the figure, tackling them to the ground and pinning them with his vampire strength.

“Well, you have a funny way of greeting old friends,” the figure said. Virgil nearly did a double take as he recognized the man beneath him. Hair that was dyed a purple so light it was nearly pink, and kaleidoscope eyes that seemed to be every color at once, and yet none of them. A few inches from the man’s head, a pair of sunglasses laid, most likely knocked off of his face when Virgil pinned him.

“Remus? Remus Dormio?” Virgil gaped in disbelief. The man in question gave Virgil a dazzling grin, displaying sharp fangs.

“Girl, you know you can just call me Remy,” he pouted. Virgil rolled his eyes, and got up off of Remy. He offered a hand to help his… acquaintance up, but Remy merely picked himself up, stretching and ruffling the feathers of his large black wings. He then bent down to pick up his sunglasses, and put them back on his face, hiding his strange multicolored eyes.

“What do you want, Remy? You know I left the coven long ago,” Virgil spat.

“I know. I only came here to warn you,” Remy said, his once playful tone now turning serious. Virgil’s eyes narrowed, even as his heart rate picked up.

“What do you mean?” Virgil asked cautiously.

“Dorian Pravum. He’s plotting something. Even I don’t know what exactly it is, and I’ve managed to work myself up to his second in command. But I know it has something to do with you. In fact, that’s probably why he hasn’t told me anything. He knows you and I were close friends before you left the coven,” he explained. Virgil’s blood ran cold. Dorian Pravum was a name he hadn’t heard in decades.

“Why are you telling me this?” Virgil asked.

“Because I now realize that I should have left the coven when you did. But now I’m in too deep. Look Virgil, I’m begging you. Stop playing human, and run away,” Remy pleaded. Virgil’s thoughts drifted to his friends, to Roman.

“I can’t,” Virgil gasped.

“What? What do you mean you can’t?! Virgil, if this is about that human and those two mythicals you’ve gotten so attached to…” Remy trailed off. Virgil scowled at his former friend.

“They are my friends, my family. I can’t leave them… especially Roman,” Virgil snapped, his tone softening when he mentioned Roman.

“The mage?! Are you kidding me?!” Remy hissed.

“No, I’m not kidding you. There’s something real, something there with Roman. It’s almost as if…” Virgil trailed off, not quite wanting to say it out loud. Remy lowered his sunglasses, his eyes widening.

“Virgil, are you saying that he might be your-” Remy started.

“Beloved? Yeah,” Virgil finished.

“Have you- have you told him?” he gasped.

“No. It’s too early to tell. We may have known each other for a few years, but we only started dating a few days ago!” Virgil snapped.

“Okay, okay, fine! But that makes it even more important that you leave. Whatever Dorian has planned, it could hurt them too,” Remy warned. 

“After all the hell we’ve survived, I’d like to see him try,” Virgil scoffed. He knew he was being slightly cocky and overconfident, but Virgil wasn’t going to let the ghosts from his past scare him any longer.

“If you insist. Just- stay safe, Virgil,” Remy said, giving him a sad smile. Remy adjusted his sunglasses, then unfurled his wings, taking off into the night sky.

Virgil stood outside for a moment, watching Remy’s retreating form. He then walked back inside, his expression grim. He walked back to the couch, curling up once again with his boyfriend. Roman made a contented sound in his sleep, hugging Virgil close to his chest.

Dorian Pravum. Now that was a name that Virgil had hoped he would never hear again. He hoped that Remy was just trying to mess with him, and that Dorian wasn’t really going to come for him. Although his old friend was known for mischief, Virgil knew he wouldn’t joke about something like this.

But Virgil’s earlier point still stood. He and his friends had been through hell and back. They took down an entire organization dedicated to hunting mythicals. Surely they could handle the vampire who turned Virgil.


End file.
